Re:Threats
by lord Piggy
Summary: Roxas left home for college to start his life over, but his plans are foiled when the one person he wished to never see again is his roommate. Thankfully, Roxas knows this person's biggest secret and isn't afraid to deal out the threats. REWRITE.
1. A New Life

**0o0o0 Chapter 1 0o0o0**

**0o0**

**0**

To say that I was nervous was an understatement. College was scary for everyone, but in my case I moved hours away from home. Knowing no one made me feel invisible like a speck of dust.

My gut twisted and turned into knots, it was a familiar feeling but I still wasn't used to it. I sighed and tightened my grip on the suitcase I was rolling behind me.

I found the room that my key designated, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. I walked over to set my suitcase down next to the unclaimed bed across the room, but I got only halfway there when I heard a voice I would have been okay with never hearing again.

"What's up, faggot?" Axel asked. The breath hitched in my throat and my chest tightened.

I turned towards the voice and saw Axel sitting in a small chair reading his favorite book. He looked the same as when I last saw him, besides a few differences.

Axel smiled, and that was what ruined me.

My eyes filled with tears, and I couldn't breathe at all, even if I tried. I was unable to stop myself as I let go of my suitcase and ran out of the room as fast as I could. Tears streamed down my face. I tried to stifle my sobs, but instead I began hiccuping and coughing.

I didn't have any idea where I was even going, but I kept running. I just tried my best to avoid people. I didn't want to get any strange looks, I got enough of those back in Twilight Town.

I really thought that when I left Twilight Town, I'd finally be happy. But Axel _had_ to be here, he _had _to ruin my happiness. I don't understand why he of all people had to be my roommate. There were thousands of students in this school, but it just had to be Axel. I knew that someone was behind this. Someone had to know of my history with Axel, they had to have known about everything.

My limbs felt like lead and I didn't have any desire to walk anywhere. Axel brought back the exhaustion I had fought so hard to rid myself from.

I sat myself down in the empty hallway. I tried not to cry, I really did, but I cried anyway. I cried a lot. I thought I had cried enough last Christmas, when everything happened. I guess I was wrong.

Suddenly, a hand was on my shoulder. My head shot up and my eyes connected with another boy's. His hair was brown and spiked in every single way imaginable. He was tanner than me by a long shot, so I figured he was a local beach bum.

"Are you okay, Ven?" the boy asked me. _Who is Ven?_ I thought..

"I'm not Ven. I'm Roxas," I spat. The boy tilted his head to the side.

"Are you sure? You look just like Ven," he said. I nodded, and took a few deep breaths. The tears streamed down my face more slowly now.

"I'm positive," I replied. The boy nodded and stuck out one of his tanned hands. I shook it.

"I'm Sora. Now, do you want to tell me what's wrong? I hate seeing people sad, and I'm a really good listener," the boy, Sora, said. I didn't even know the kid, but here he was, offering to help me.

"No," I said. Sora slid down on the wall next to me.

"I think you want to talk," he pressed.

"I do want to talk," I admitted. "I just don't want to tell the whole story. I know that if I do I'll probably start crying again," I said. Sora laughed and I ended up giving him a death glare.

"I'm not laughing at you! It's just that I've already seen you sobbing your eyes out, so who cares if I see you cry again?" he said. I considered what he said. I guess he had a point, a really weird and kinda stupid point, but a point nonetheless.

"Well, back home in Twilight Town I had a really hard time. I got bullied a lot because I'm gay. When I came out my friends ditched me. After that I made one friend, and he was my only friend for a year. He was older and left for college. Around Christmas of that year, he sent me and everyone else I knew an email that was so homophobic and full of all my secrets. I was humiliated and bullied even more. I left home and came here to get away and have a fresh start, but he's my roommate."

I looked down at the ground. I'm surprised at myself for how much I told Sora. I planned on only telling him that someone who screwed my over was my roommate, but it snowballed and the whole thing came out. I hid my face in my arms and Sora didn't say anything for a while.

"I'm sorry. Those people never were your friends. Friends lift you up and make you greater, not treat you like shit," he said. I scoffed._ As if I already didn't know that_, I thought.

Then, I was even more surprised by Sora's kindness; he hugged me. Sora, a guy I just met 10 minutes ago, hugged me. I didn't hug him back, but I smiled for the first time in ages. I think anyone would smile when they make their first friend.

Sora stood up and pulled me up with him.

"I want you to come and meet my friends! They would really like you," he said in a cheery tone.

I was at a loss for words. More friends? I was smiling like an idiot as I followed Sora to his room, which was conveniently located right next to mine. He opened the door and ushered me inside.

There were 5 people sitting around the room, chatting. When I walked in everyone stopped talking and stared at me. One girl had short black hair, one had long platinum blond hair, and the third girl had pretty auburn hair. There was a guy with silver hair there, too. I didn't stare at any of them, though. My eyes locked on someone that looked exactly like me.

I figured that the two of us looked alike because of what Sora said, but I never thought he would look identical to me. Everything was the same. And by everything I mean _everything. _To be honest, it was really unnerving.

"Oh, this is Roxas!" Sora said, breaking the heavy silence that had hung over the room. Sora introduced everyone to me. The girl with black hair was Xion, the blond one was Namine, and the auburn haired one was Kairi. The guy with the silver hair was named Riku. He was scary even though he was laughing and joking around. I think that's probably because he's always glaring, even when he's smiling.

I ended up sitting next to Ven, the guy who looked exactly like me, just staring at his face. He was staring back at me with a strange expression. Ven poked and prodded me, and touched my hair. Ven opened my eyes and stared deeply into my irises. He looked at the back of my neck and then laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"I finally found something that I have and you don't!" he exclaimed while turning around and pointing to a scar at the nape of his neck.

"What's that from?" I asked him. He smiled at me devilishly.

"Well, since you _ask__ed, _I guess I have to tell you the most amazing story you'll ever hear," he said to me, or rather he announced it to the room. Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes. Riku called out something that I couldn't really make out, but I'm positive it was "Not again!"

Ven told a long story that I have to admit was pretty cool. It seemed almost too cool to be real. The story was too long to ever repeat or remember, but in the end Ven got a gash so deep you could see his bone. He got this by falling off a speeding motorcycle, but I doubt that's true.

When Ven's story ended all I could say was, "Wow." He nodded then shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

Xion got up from Sora's bed and sat next to me on Riku's. She looked at me curiously.

"Where are you from? I've never seen you around before," she asked me. I smiled almost as largely as I did when Sora hugged me. Xion wanted to know about me. Someone was curious about me. Someone wanted to know more. The feeling of importance was foreign to me, but I welcomed the pride that it brought.

"I'm from Twilight Town. I flew here and it took about five hours," I said. Xion's jaw dropped slightly.

"You flew five hours _just_ to come to Destiny Islands University? And I heard Twilight Town is amazing, that it has really delicious ice cream, too," she said quickly. I laughed at her reaction.

Xion smiled a little and that's when I noticed how pretty she was. Her hair was cut in pixie style and framed her face nearly perfectly. Her skin was exceptionally clear and looked soft to touch. Xion's eyes were as blue as mine and Sora's, but her eyes were bigger and rounder, with thick black lashes curled up with mascara. She smelled like vanilla perfume mixed with the distinct smell of the beach. Xion was beautiful, and I really wish I could be attracted to her.

"I moved here to get a fresh start, you know? I got tired of seeing the same people all the time," I lied practically through my teeth. "And, yeah, it's called Sea-Salt ice cream. I'm addicted to it!" I say with a small chuckle. She smiles at me again.

"I would love to try some, but I don't think it's sold here," she said. Her smile turned to a slight frown. "Which sucks, I really want some now that I know you liked it so much."

"Whenever I go home to visit I'll bring some back for you guys to try, it's _soooo_ good," I gushed. I really was passionate about sea-salt ice cream. I haven't even been gone a day and I'm already craving it. I guess I'll just have to make some myself.

"Destiny Islands has its own legendary food. It's called the paopu fruit, have you ever heard of it?" Xion asked me.

The paopu fruit. It does sound familiar. When I didn't answer, Xion took it as a cue. "It's a star-shaped fruit that grows on some trees here. They say that if two people share a paopu fruit their lives will be intertwined forever."

When Xion told me that, I remembered exactly why it sounded so familiar. I have heard about the paopu fruit, but that was two years ago.

**0o0o Flashback 0o0o**

_It was my junior year in high school and it was the second Monday in October. I roamed the school library aimlessly. I had said that I was looking for a free reading book, but actually I just wanted to get out of french class. _

_I turned into the romance section and fake looked through the shelves. I picked up a random book and "read" the back of it. It was your typical young adult romance novel. It featured an outcast girl who falls in love with the most popular guy in school. Then the popular guy likes the girl but does something stupid to ruin it. No matter what that douchebag of a guy does, he always manages to get the girl in the end. I really just don't get it._

_I put the book back and turn around, nearly jumping a foot in the air. Axel Flynt was standing next to me, looking me in the eyes. I had never spoken to Axel before; I never made the effort and neither did he, so I guess you can say that the ignoring was mutual. Yet, here he was, standing right in front of me. He obviously wanted to say something to me. What he wanted to say? I could never guess._

_Axel opened his mouth and closed it. He seemed to be thinking, judging by how he scrunched his brows together. He seemed to make up his mind when he opened his mouth again._

_I got ready to be called faggot. Everyone calls me a faggot. Homo. Queer. Twink. I get called everything. Not everyone tells me to my face that I'm a freak and that I'm disgusting, but no one has come to my defense yet. Not even my old friends. They just sit as the cooler kids or the assholes bombard me with slurs and insults. Axel was probably going to do the same. I mean, Axel was one of the popular kids, he and his best friend Demyx Glass were pretty much the top dogs at the school. I wouldn't be surprised if he finally put me down. _

_Axel turned to face the bookshelf and I followed suit. I looked at him curiously from the corner of my eyes._

_Axel was gorgeous, to put it simply. He had high cheekbones and a defined jaw. His eyes were a striking emerald color. Axel's hair was as red as red came and was usually worn in one style; pushed back and spiky. However today his hair was up in a pony tail that he somehow managed to pull off. His cheeks were littered with light freckles, which had to be my favorite thing about him. Axel was also tall and, well, I'd say lanky, but he was somewhat toned from being the star of the track team. _

_Axel looked at me discreetly. I quickly averted my gaze. _

_Axel picked up a little book that was right in front of him. He looked through the pages and made a disgruntled noise. He closed the book and set it back down. Axel turned to walk away, but he looked at me and our eyes connected for a few seconds. Then he left._

_My eyes fell on the book that Axel had picked up. He had looked at a book that was simply titled 'The Power of Paopu.' I noticed something strange about it though. There was a slip of paper jutting out of the top of the book. I grabbed the book and ripped out the piece of paper. The first thing it said was to read page 20. I flipped through the book until I came across the page Axel had indicated._

_The passage was about the main character, a shy mousey girl, musing about what it would be like to share a paopu fruit with a boy. I finished the page and went back to Axel's note. It told me to meet him at the library in the mansion at 7 o'clock because he had something he wanted to talk to me about. I looked at the other side of the note, looking for more writing. Was that really all he wanted to say? I sighed and put the book back._

**0o0o End Flashback 0o0o**

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of that before," I said. Xion smiled. Riku looked over at us and rolled his eyes.

"Don't believe anything about the paopu fruit, it's a load of crap," Riku said curtly. I turned to him and shrugged.

"You won't know until you try," I say. Riku smiled at me.

"I want to try the paopu fruit, I just need someone to try it with!" Sora said happily.

"I bet Kairi would die to share one with you," Riku said in a teasing tone of voice. Sora's cheeks flared pink. He sheepishly looked at Kairi, who looked petrified. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes were wide open. Sora looked back at Riku.

"Shut up!" Sora yelled. Riku along with the others, including me, laughed.

Everyone drifted off into conversation. Xion migrated to sit next to Namine, and I'm guessing that they were gossiping about something. Sora and Kairi were talking quietly to each other. Sora had his hand gingerly placed on Kairi's shoulder, and Kairi looked like she was in heaven. I turned away, though, I felt as if I was intruding on something private. Ven and Riku were laughing as hard as they could about a joke Ven told.

My thoughts drifted to my old friends from Twilight Town. We were all so close, Pence, Olette, Hayner, and I. We could talk for hours and hours and never run out of anything to talk about. It was the happiest time of my life, when I was friends with them. When I came out Hayner got them to turn against me. He told Pence that I had a crush on him and was trying to get into his pants (what a lie.) Hayner told Olette that I slept with her brother and only became friends with her to get with him (another huge lie.) I don't really understand why they believed Hayner over me, Hayner always did have a history of lying.

Hanging out with Sora and his friends reminded me of hanging out with Olette and the others in our little hiding spot. It made me miss the colored marbles that we all had. It made me miss watching the sunset on the clock tower while eating sea-salt ice cream. It made me miss Olette telling me that she had a crush on Hayner. I still remember how she would go on about him for hours. I wonder if they were dating now; they would have been a nice couple. I don't think they'd be as nice as Sora and Kairi would be, though.

I sat there for a while, silent with my own thoughts. Then Ven tapped my knee. I looked up at him, slowly, still somewhat out of it.

"Roxas, I get creeped out when I look at you," he said monotonously. I looked at Ven blankly. My mind was going out of control, wondering what he meant. Does he know that I'm gay? Does he hate me for that? Will he bully me? Will he get everyone else to hate me? What will I do? How will I survive here? The beating of my heart picked up. I felt my face scrunch up and my cheeks get more red.

"Why? If you have something to say then just say it!" I spat at him. Ven looked confused and laughed nervously.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that! I meant because we look so alike!" he said to me. He smiled at me lamely. I un-tensed my shoulders, even though I didn't know I had tightened up. I began breathing normally and rubbed the back of my head. I laughed breathlessly and looked at Ven.

"I'm really sorry, I'm just on edge recently," I said. Ven nodded understandingly. "Yeah, this whole looking the same thing makes me feel weird too. I'm not used to people looking like me," I continued.

"We're probably related in some weird way," Ven said. I thought about the possibility.

"There's really no way we're related. My mom left my dad and I when I was 2, and I was an only child," I said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and my dad is dead, so I'll just say that this is either a really, really, strange coincidence," Ven stated. I nodded and laughed.

"Yes, because people with no relation looking identical is really a common occurrence," I mocked. Ven stuck up his hands in defense.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm just expressing my thoughts," he said. I laughed and threw Riku's pillow at him. After the initial shock and OOF! factor, Ven gave me a look so evil that it could make blood go cold. I smiled innocently at him. Ven took the pillow I had thrown at him and leaped closer to me on the bed. He bashed me multiple times with the pillow.

We were both incapable of holding in our giggles and exploded with laughter. I grabbed Riku's other pillow and started hitting Ven back. Soon, Sora stood up with his own pillow and joined in. He hit both of us as hard as he could, so Ven and I silently made an alliance to take that fucker down.

I was the one who tackled Sora's legs while Ven jumped on top of him to hit him in the face. It was one big pillow fight, and it was amazing. I had never laughed that hard, and it was one of the first times in years I've laughed while having fun. It made me feel warm and giddy inside, and I gladly let that feeling make itself familiar with me again. It had been too long and I'm finally happy.

Eventually it got late, I wish I knew the time, but all I know is that it was dark outside. I left Sora's room in high spirits. I had _friends._ Real friends who cared about me and laughed with me. We had fun together and we cracked jokes together. I haven't had a friend in so long that the joys of having friends was something I had forgotten.

I walked into my room and immediately started coughing. Whenever I took a breath my throat burned. I covered my face with my shirt and walked deeper into my room and saw Axel sitting with Demyx on my bed. Both of them had cigarettes in their hands and were happily puffing smoke into the room. I glared at Axel and stomped to my bed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded. Axel looked at Demyx incredulously. He laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Well, I'm just sitting in my room enjoying a smoke with my best friend. What are you doing?" Axel said in a tone that was five times too sweet. I balled my fists and squared my jaw. I felt heat rush into my cheeks as I sat there and glared at Axel with all the anger towards him I had bottled up.

"I see that, you asshat! Couldn't you at least have the decency to open a window or, oh, I don't know, go outside? What's wrong with you?" I screamed at him.

Demyx looked amused and laughed. He smiled at me, but not in a friendly way. He stood up, put out his cigarette in an ash tray and walked next to me to mess up my hair.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Axel. I'll let you and the _it_ talk it out. Bye, queer!" he called on his way out. I was already too infuriated with Axel to even bother thinking about Demyx.

I snatched the cigarette from Axel's mouth and put it out for him. Axel gave me a look that would have made me quiver with fear in normal situations. However, this wasn't a normal situation.

"What was that for?!" he yelled at me. I ignored him and moved to the window and opened it, to let the smoke out. Axel got up and grabbed my arm, tugging me around to face him. "I said, what was that for?" he repeated. I yanked my arm away from him and stepped back.

"That was for smoking in my room, _on my bed_, and for being a total and complete bastard!"I screamed back at him. He shook his head.

"I'm not a bastard, you don't know anything, faggot," he said with a malevolent sneer. I didn't flinch at his remark like I normally would. My blood was coursing too quickly, my breaths were ragged, I wasn't thinking like I usually do.

I took a step closer to Axel and went on tippy toes so I was nose to nose with him. I poked a finger into his chest and glared into his eyes.

"Don't you fucking dare say that I don't know anything about you! I know everything about you! And yes, you are a bastard. You used me just to get secrets out of me, our whole friendship was fake. You betrayed me and humiliated me! You made my senior year a literal living hell. And you never even apologized! You're not at all sorry for ruining my life and driving me out of my home town. You, sir, are a bastard and I have every single fucking right to call you that!" I screamed into his face. Axel's eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before deciding on not saying anything.

I went back down to my height and sat on my bed, letting out a long sigh. Axel slowly shuffled across the room to his bed. He didn't say anything, but the air was thick and heavy. I looked around the room I've been doomed to sleep in.

The room wasn't too big or too small. The school here was for rich kids, so everything was nice enough. My bed was directly across from the door and in a corner while Axel's was across from me in the other corner. There was enough room for a small tv and a dingy green chair that I didn't trust to be clean of bedbugs. There were two desks in the room, one next to my bed and one next to Axel's. There were closets in the walls that weren't all that big but managed to fit clothes in anway.

Axel left the room disgusting. Empty bags of chips and cigarette butts were left all around the room, mainly on the floor. The room smelled like piss and cigarette smoke nearly constantly.

I smelled something foul and I looked at Axel who already had another cigarette in his mouth.

"What the hell?" I asked him. Axel shrugged.

"I wanted to finish my cigarette," Axel said simply. I rolled my eyes and stood up. I grabbed pajamas and clothes for tomorrow out of my suitcase and walked towards the door. Axel's eyes followed me.

"Where are you going?" he asked. I looked at him right before I opened the door.

"I'd rather sleep anywhere but here," I told him. I was completely honest. Axel let me leave.

I walked to Sora and Riku's room and knocked on the door. Sora opened the door, saw my flushed face, and let me in without explanation. I smiled at him and said thank you. Riku was sitting in his bed texting a storm on the small cell phone in his hands. Sora led me to his bed and motioned for me to sit down.

"You can sleep in my bed," he said.

"Where will you sleep?" I asked. Sora laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"On the floor, duh," he said between laughs. I shook my head and stood up.

"It's okay, Sora. I can sleep on the floor, it's _your_ room and _your_ bed," I reasoned. Sora shook his head and took the comforters off of his bed and Riku's.

"Roxas, you're my friend. Friends do favors for each other. I don't mind if you sleep in my bed," he said in a tone that signaled finality. I sat back down on Sora's bed and watching him fashion a bed out of the comforters he took. He went over to Riku and pulled a pillow from under his head. Riku gave Sora such a shady side eye that even I got the chills. Sora didn't seem fazed at all and just laughed.

I took off my pants and shirt and put on a black bed shirt. I slipped under the covers of Sora's bed and stared above me. The speckled dots on the ceiling reminded me of the ones in my room at home. I imagined that I was back in my own room and in my own bed. I remembered the smell of sea-salt ice cream which had become a permanent part of my room. I thought about my checkered bed spread and the soft blankets. I counted the dots on the ceiling like I did when I was back home. I had counted them every night until I fell asleep. I ended up counting to over 1,000 dots one night.

Tonight, I could only get to 100.

* * *

**So, Threats is being rewritten. I couldn't think of any good titles, so I decided on Re:Threats because I'm lazy. I'm sure later on I will find something or a title will be suggested to me.**

**I have wanted to rewrite Threats for a long time and I'm happy that I finally have the opportunity to do so. I feel that now I will be able to write this story to the best of my ability and to publish it at the quality I've always wanted. **

**Whether or not you have read Threats before or not, I'm glad that you are reading this. I would love if you took the time to review and leave feedback or suggestions. Feel free to PM if you want to talk or tell me something.**

**P.S. If you read Threats before, tell me what you think about the rewrite so far. Which version are you liking better? How do you feel about the subtle differences in the plot and characters? I would love to know!**

**EDIT: I edited this chapter a bit to make it less wordy and icky.**


	2. Obscene

**0o0o0o Chapter 2 0o0o0o**

**0o0**

**0**

"I'm sorry Mr. Strife, but we can't let you do that," a middle-aged woman with graying brown hair said to me with an empty smile. I frowned and groaned. I slumped into the plush seat I was sitting in.

"Why? You don't understand how badly I have to get out of there!" I half-shouted at her. I glared at her, gripping the sides of the chair. The woman looked slightly taken aback and frowned at me.

"It's against school policy to allow switching dorms after the school year has started. You'll just have to wait," she said. I huffed. I looked deep into her eyes. I tried willing the woman to let me change my room.

I leaned over the desk, still glaring. The woman stared back and leaned in, once again smiling an empty smile. Her brown hair brushed her cheek and I got a whiff of her strange citrus scent.

"You have to leave now, Mr. Strife. I have a meeting soon," she said. I let out a heavy breath through my teeth and abruptly stood up. My hands had balled into tight fists. I could literally feel the blood pumping through my veins at top speed. While walking out I aggressively walked into the seat, tipping it over in the process. I stomped out of her office and slammed the door shut.

I stalked down the hallway back to my dreaded dorm room, the whole time my mind was racing. I couldn't believe this! I can't fucking believe I can't change my room! I told her how Axel said multiple slurs to me and caused so much misery. I described in detail how Axel ruined my life and how it affected me. Yet, she wouldn't help me because of the 'rules.' To hell with the rules! Where was her sense of right and wrong? Where was her sympathy? I just don't get it, I don't get why she couldn't help me.

I made it back to my room and was pleased to see that it was empty. I smiled, feeling more calm. I was worked up about a lot of things, and encountering Axel back in the dorm room sure was one of them. I walked to my bed and sat down. I scooted backwards so I was sitting against the wall. I shoved my hand into my pocket and dug out my phone.

I speed dialed the only number I had called or texted in the past year and pressed the phone to my ear. It picked up after two rings.

"Hello?" A familiarly deep voice answered.

"Hi, Dad. It's Roxas," I said. The person on the other end laughed a little.

"Yeah I know, I have caller ID, numb nuts," he retorted. I blushed slightly, but laughed anyway.

"Sorry," I said simply.

"Is there something you need?" My dad asked me. I sighed exasperatingly.

"No. But I do hate my roommate," I said. I couldn't see him, but I knew my dad would be rolling his eyes now.

"Why? Do they collect baby dolls or something?" he said in an obviously annoyed tone of voice. _If only,_ I thought.

"No. Not at all like that. I wish they were like that though," I said. I continued on, "It's Axel."

I didn't say anything other than that. My dad was silent on the other end of the phone. We sat there for a while in silence.

"Axel _Flynt?_" he said after what seemed like hours.

"Yeah, Axel Flynt," I said. It felt weird to say his name. It burned my tongue and gave me a bad taste in my mouth. It was like blood and dirt mixed together.

"Has anything happened?" my dad inquired.

"No, thank god. We fought last night, but no one got hit or anything."

"I kind of wish you hit him," my dad said with a laugh. I laughed with him. I don't know why I didn't hit Axel. I sure wanted to, and I still want to. However, there's something that's just keeping my from doing that right now.

"Me too, Dad, me too," I said. Then the door to my room opened and the last person I'd ever want to see walked in. The sight of him upset my stomach and I felt the need to empty my stomach all over that bastard's face.

"I gotta go, Dad. I'll call you later. Love you, bye," I said quietly into the cell phone. I ended the call without waiting for my dad's reply. Instead my eyes trailed Axel after as he walked across the room to his desk. I felt my face contort into a disgusted expression. Axel carried in a thick smell of cigarettes and alcohol. He was wearing dark wash jeans that were a little too loose and a simple red t-shirt. His hair was pulled up into a pony tail, revealing a small tattoo on his neck; the number VIII in small black ink.

Axel turned back and looked at me. He sneered.

"You imagining some hot homo sex with me, you queer?" he said in a sickly sweet tone. I laughed mockingly.

"You wish. But you have the sex appeal of a beached whale," I replied with a sweet smile. Axel didn't say anything, but he did give me a dirty look. Axel went back to ignoring my presence. He was too busy messing around at his desk to really notice me and all of me "gayness." I watched him. I wasn't interested in him by any means, but I had trouble looking away at the person I hate more than anything else in this world. I'm sure everyone could understand.

Suddenly a question fought its way up my throat and out of my mouth.

"Why did you do it?" I asked him. Axel's head snapped in my direction, looking slightly off guard.

"Do what?" he replied. I glared intensely at him.

"You know exactly what I mean," I said. Axel nodded and looked away from me.

"I did it because I wanted to," he said back. My jaw dropped open. He did it because he fucking _WANTED TO?!_ He single-handedly ruined my life because he simply wanted to?! Heat rushed to my face and I couldn't even smell the horrible stench emanating from Axel anymore.

"Are you FUCKING serious?! You did it because you wanted to? You don't have any better reason for totally betraying me other than because you _WANTED TO?!_" I screeched. Axel looked back at me his eyes wide. I stood up and practically ran to him. I continued on with my little scream-fest, "I always knew you were an asshole, but this is low, even for you, Axel!"

Axel looked at me blankly and slowly blinked.

"If you were me, you would have done it too," he said softly. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I crossed my arms and glared into Axel's green eyes.

"You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," I said back to him.

"You don't know the whole story!" Axel exclaimed, trying and failing to defend himself. I laughed condescendingly.

"I know that you're an asshole who betrayed one of their best friends and ruined their life. That's all I really need to know," I said. Right after I finished my sentence there were two knocks on the door.

"Roxas?" I heard Sora call from the hallway. I turned around quickly on my heel and opened the door. Sora was wearing swimming trunks and had a towel slung over his shoulder.

"Yes?" I asked. Sora grinned at me, his smile seeming to stretch ear to ear.

"Xion, Ven, Riku, Kairi, Namine, and I were going to the beach and wanted to know if you were interested in coming," he said. I smiled at Sora. My shoulders untensed and my face began cooling down.

"Yeah, just let me get my swimsuit!" I said happily. Sora nodded and I closed the door, getting ready and leaving without even looking at Axel.

Sora and I had met up with the rest of our friends in the front of the dorm building. We all chatted and laughed while walking to the beach. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by everything about the islands. The air always smelled like the ocean. It was so hard to describe. It was salty and it was almost like you could smell the actual breeze. I could hear the crashing of the waves and the sounds of the seagulls even though we weren't at the beach yet. Back in Twilight Town, all we really had was the chiming of the clock and the rattling of the trams and trains.

At the beach, everyone went into the water, well, everyone except for me and the girls. Xion ended up sitting extremely close to me while Kairi and Namine sat separately to talk quietly. Xion touched my shoulder and looked me deep in the eyes. She smiled at me softly.

"You've never been to the beach before have you?" she asked with a little laugh. I shook my head. Was it really that obvious?

"Never! The only other place I've been besides Twilight Town is Radiant Garden," I said. Xion looked away from me and stared at the ocean. She seemed to become lost while she stared at the horizon line.

"That's not good! I feel lucky to have grown up at the beach," she said to me. I shrugged.

"I don't know, Twilight Town has its perks," I said. Xion looked back at me. Her eyes traveled all over my face and she scooted closer to me, so her body was touching mine. I stiffened slightly and my breath hitched. I had no idea what to say or do, no idea at all. I had never once been in a situation like this.

Xion grabbed my hand and I struggled to find words to say.

"This is nice," Xion said. I gulped a couple of times until my mouth finally seemed to work.

"Yeah," I stammered. Xion was my friend. One of the only friends I've had in years. I didn't want to tell her that I didn't like her that way, that could ruin everything. I don't know how to just come out and say to someone, 'Sorry, I don't like you, I'm gay.' I felt hopelessly torn and I actually felt a tug in my heart. I knew that I would hurt her if I played along, but wouldn't I just hurt her more if I flat-out rejected her?

I sighed softly and desperately looked for Sora to help me get out of this situation. Sadly, he was too distracted.

We stayed at the beach until late afternoon. The girls were hungry and Kairi persuaded Sora to take everyone to get ice cream. I sat quietly in the bed of Sora's pickup truck. Xion insisted on sitting next to me in the back. I stayed as silent as possible and stared at the bottom of the truck bed, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Soon we got there and we all ordered. The little shop was run by family friends of Sora and we all got discounts. All of us sat a big round table outside of the shop. I quietly ate my ice cream while sitting next to Ven and Riku.

"Hey, Roxas and Ven, are you guys related?" Riku asked us. I looked at him slowly and shook my head. Ven did the same.

"Nope, I asked my mom about it and she insisted that my dad is dead and that I'm an only child," Ven stated.

"Yeah, I'm an only child and I live with my Dad, so nothing's going on there," I add. Riku slowly nodded.

"You guys are both idiots if you think you're not related," he said bluntly. I frowned at Riku and turned away from him. We sat in silence for a minute or two before Riku continued on, "You just can't have people who look identical and are the same age, have the same birthday, and not have them be related." I swung my heard around and looked at him.

"Well, we're not related, so get over it," I replied. Riku laughed a little. He leaned around me a looked at Ven, then back at me.

"You guys are _definitely_ related. You both bite your ice cream, only complete weirdos do that," Riku said. I looked at Ven and Ven looked at me. We raised our eyebrows at each other. I had absolutely no idea what Riku was talking about.

"My mom wouldn't lie to me," Ven said. I nodded in agreement.

"Neither would my dad," I said. Riku laughed heartily.

"If you guys really believe everything your parents say, you two are hopeless! Parents lie and keep secrets all the time!" Riku said. I laughed at that. My dad and I had a very good and strong relationship. We've always been honest and open with each other. I don't remember a single lie that was told in all my years of living.

"You don't know my dad, he just doesn't lie. Ever," I stated. Riku looked away from me and shook his head.

"You can believe whatever you want, but if you don't have an inkling of suspicion, then you're living your life wrong," Riku said. I decided to ignore him and to continue eating the ice cream I had.

Riku's words stayed in my head no matter how hard I tried to forget them. That pissed me off more than having a clone of myself sitting right next to me.

**...Later...**

After that we all went back into our own rooms. When I got into my room, no one was there (thank god.) I scrunched my nose upon entering. The stench had grown worse, even though I hadn't though it possible. I groaned and kicked the wall out of agitation. How could Axel stand to live in these conditions?! I could never understand that, but I know that I would never let myself live like this.

I got out my ipod and clicked shuffle. Then, I got to work. I cleaned up every inch of garbage in the room. It was so old and disgusting that it pretty much needed to be scraped off of the floor. I shoved all the trash collected into Axel's trash bin. I then took out my cologne and sprayed it all over the room trying to mask the horrid smell. It only half worked. After that, I set out on sweeping all used cigarette butts into the trash bin. I only half finished that job when the door opened and Axel stopped in his tracks.

"Did you just clean my room?" he asked me slowly. Without turning around I nodded. Axel didn't reply. He only walked over to his trash bin and dumped the contents all over my bed.

I spun around, my fists clenched and my jaw set. "What are you doing?! I spent so long cleaning this fucking pig sty!" I yelled. Axel brushed past me, shoving me with his shoulder.

"You don't clean my room unless you get permission," he said in a stone cold voice. I trailed close behind Axel and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.

"First off, it's _our _room. Secondly, this room probably wouldn't pass a health inspection," I said. Axel crossed his arms and stared at me blankly.

"I didn't ask you to be my fucking mother, don't look out for me," he said. I laughed. I laughed really, really hard.

"I didn't look out for you! I was making sure I didn't die in here," I managed to get out between laughs. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't lie to yourself. We all know that you're gay for me," he said with a sneer. I shook my head.

"Never in a million years, you pig," I said. Axel looked amused and leaned down, so we were eye level.

"Must I remind you of what happened the night before I left for college?" he asked me. I immediately knew what he was talking about and my cheeks flared red.

"That was years ago! It doesn't mean anything now, I hate you and I don't have any feelings for you!" I screamed in his face. Axel laughed and turned around, obviously done with me.

I huffed and went to my bed. I threw all the trash at Axel's side of the room, loudly groaning the whole time. Then, I slithered under the covers and glared at the door.

_Leave it to Axel to bring up the single worst decision of my life_, I thought. I sighed to myself and buried my heads under the sheets. I knew I was blushing furiously. I was hoping that Axel would have forgotten what happened, or that he would at least have the decency to never bring it up again. Somehow, in such an embarrassed state, I fell asleep.

The next morning I frowned as light filtered in through the thin curtains on the windows. I pushed back the covers and slowly stretched out my body and checked the clock. I sat up abruptly in my bed.

It was 8:55! My first class was at 9! I shot out of bed and ran to my suitcase, throwing on a random pair of shorts and a shirt. I grabbed my school bag and ran out of the door as fast as I could. I sprinted out of the dorm building and across campus faster than I thought was possible for me. I made it to my social sciences class with a minute to spare.

I saw Kairi sitting near the middle of the room and I ran down and grabbed a seat next to hear. As soon as she saw me she burst out laughing as hard as she could. I looked at her confused.

"What?" I asked. She pointed at my face and handed me a small compact mirror from her purse.

"Was there a party I wasn't invited to last night or something?" she asked me. I gave her a strange look and opened the mirror. I stared at my reflection and screamed right as the professor walked in.

All of my face was covered in obscene sharpie drawings. Next to my mouth was an ejaculating penis. My forehead bore the word 'FAGGOT' in big bold letters. I was fuming and slammed the mirror down in front of Kairi. I buried my head in my arms and barely spoke or looked up the entire class.

After somehow managing to survive the day, I stomped back into my room. I saw Axel sitting on his bed, texting someone on his phone. Axel looked up when I walked in and entered. He saw my unhappy expression and laughed a little.

"Do you like my masterpiece?" he asked me. I walked up to Axel. I stared into his eyes for a few seconds before quickly slapping him across the face as hard as I could. His cheek turned bright red and I could make out my hand print.

"No I fucking don't! You're an even bigger asshole than I thought you were, Axel! For doing this, I'm going to ruin your life just like you ruined mine," I hissed. Axel stared at me with wide eyes, obviously surprised. He caressed his cheek gingerly.

"H-how?" he asked. I gave his shoulder a squeeze in mock friendliness.

"Oh, Axel, did you forget? You told me your big secret while we were in high school. I definitely didn't forget about it, and I'm sure your friends in the Organization would LOVE know about it," I said sweetly. Axel's jaw dropped.

"You wouldn't," he said lamely. I shook my head.

"No, I wouldn't tell. But you definitely would with enough...'motivation,'" I said. Axel looked at me curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Oh, you'll find out later. Right now I have to go wash this off my face and then go hang out with Ven. I'll talk to you later though," I said while walking out of the door.

I smiled. This felt better than I thought it would.

* * *

**Yes, yes, yes, chapter 2 has finally been done. Sorry for the wait, I was feeling bleh.**

**I hope you like this chapter, it's much better than the first in my opinion.**

**If you are a new reader, what do you think Axel's secret is? How do you think Roxas will 'motivate' Axel?**

**For old readers, how do you like the rewrite?**

**ALSO, IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT BEFORE AXEL LEFT, YOU CAN READ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ONE SHOT "BEST FRIENDS" (its a oneshot prequel)**


	3. The Truth About Mom

**0o0o0 Chapter 3 0o0o0**

**0o0**

**0**

It took me about a good ten minutes to even make any progress on the face graffiti. I scrubbed my face raw, my cheeks and forehead were a harsh red color. The obscenities were, thankfully, less obvious. I sighed and turned off the water, finally giving up. Besides I had to go soon if I didn't want to be late with Ven.

I met Ven outside the front entrance of the dorm building. He had his phone in his hands and was texting faster than I knew I would ever be able to.

I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Ven jumped slightly and abruptly spun around. When he was who it was a smile appeared on his features.

"Hey, ready to go?" he asked me casually. I nodded and we made our way to his car in silence.

Once we were both seated in his pristine convertible, Ven turned to look at me with a quizzical expression.

"Do I even want to know what happened to your face?" Ven asked me. I frowned, my mood suddenly dampened. I smiled at him sarcastically.

"No, I just like to mess with my face in my spare time," I said to him. Ven laughed and shook his head. I glared at him and turned away to look out of the windshield. I buckled up and crossed my arms with a huff.

"Let's just go now, I'll tell you later," I said. Ven didn't respond and pulled out. He spun the car around and we drove off.

Earlier in our psychology class, Ven and I realized we both wanted to see The Conjuring and quickly made plans to go see it. I usually don't like going to the movies, but this was an opportunity to get closer to Ven. I wanted to have strong friendships with everyone here, so I'm taking every chance I get to strengthen those bonds.

We sat in silence as we drove over the bridge leading off of the small island where our school was located. I stared out the at the water, completely mesmerized. I had only been to the beach once and that was yesterday. Never in my life had I seen so much water or felt so warm. The air always smelled like the ocean and the atmosphere was laid back. It was so different from Twilight Town, the tense city I was condemned to grow up in.

A couple of years ago, I used to dream about going to the ocean. I used to dream about going with someone who was special to me, and holding them close while we watched the sunset on the beach. I remember the person I used to imagine myself with, and now I couldn't help but shake my head. That person is someone who I could no longer stand, it was hard enough just thinking about them without a sharp stabbing pain in my gut.

I sighed and Ven looked over to me.

"What's up?" he asked. I snapped my head over to look at Ven and shook my head.

"Nothing, I was just thinking," I said. Ven nodded and looked back at the road.

"About what?" he asked me.

"Stuff from a long time ago," I replied.

"What kind of stuff?" he asked. I sighed loudly again. Ven was a persistent in getting the information out of you, much like Sora.

"I used to want to come to the ocean with someone who I really liked. But I just hate that person now and the thought is funny to me," I said. I lied about it being funny to me. It was more upsetting than funny in my opinion, but I didn't want Ven to know that.

"Who was this person?" Ven asked me. I ignored him and reached over to turn on the radio very loudly. Ven took the cue and dropped the subject. Instead he attempted the hold a light conversation with me about school, but I couldn't reply. I wanted to have a nice conversation with him, but my mind was elsewhere. It was on that one person who I wanted to be here with all those years ago.

I couldn't stop thinking about Axel.

**0o0o0o0o0o**

After the movie Ven and I practically ran to his car. Ven had been desperately grabbing on to my arm the whole time and refused to let go. I laughed though, it was funny in the strangest way.

We got into Ven's car and I was happy to feel a safe. The smell of leather was strangely comforting. Ven started driving again. We talked about the movie for a while but the conversation fizzled out soon after that. I was more content with just staring out of the car into the setting sun. However, Ven had a different idea.

"So, when are you gonna tell me about your face?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and let out a groan.

"It 's nothing," I said, eager to end the conversation. Suddenly, Ven pulled his car over and turned to look at me.

"Roxas, I've only known you for a few days. Despite that, I know you're a natural sourpuss, but this is just ridiculous!" he exclaimed. Roxas looked him in the eyes and scowled. I knew I couldn't get out of it now.

"It was Axel," I grumbled. Ven furrowed his brows.

"Axel Flynt? I should have guessed, everyone knows he's no good," he said.

"You know him?" I asked, surprised. Ven nodded.

"Unfortunately. I'm sure you know the Organization," he paused. I nodded and he continued, "If you know them then you already know that they're homophobic pieces of shit that go around terrorizing people."

"I do know that. Axel is my roommate," I said with obvious disgust.

"That was a pretty vicious tone of voice there, mister," Ven said with a small laugh. Ven's laugh was infectious and I chuckled a bit.

"He and I don't get along," I said. Ven nodded like he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"I don't blame you," he said. I forced a smile on my face an all I could think was, _If only you knew the whole story._ I turned around and began talking about absolutely nothing to Ven. Ven started the car and we drove off, having an easy conversation.

The night sky was black by the time Ven and I were back in the dorm building. We were walking back to our dorms, which weren't too far apart, thankfully. Soon I was standing outside my door and Ven was across the hall. I was about to enter when Ven called something back to me.

"Hey, Roxas, on Saturday Sora, Riku, and I were all going to my house to watch some movies all night. You could come if you wanted," he said hopefully. I couldn't stop myself as I grinned. I nodded excitedly and said night to Ven before walking into my dorm room.

Once again, I began choking when I tried to breathe. I covered my mouth and nose with the fabric of my t-shirt and walked farther into the room and saw Demyx, Axel, and a blond girl with a strange hairstyle all smoking cigarettes on Axel's bed. I glared at Axel and rushed to open a window and air out the room.

Axel put out his cigarette and watched me with cold eyes. He got up and pulled Demyx and the girl up with him.

"I gotta have a talk with Roxas. I'll meet you guys tomorrow," Axel said. He pushed them out of the room and closed the door before he could hear their protests.

Axel then spun around to face me. I stared at him blankly. I felt a bubbling rage within me, but I kept it toned down for now.

"Tell me what you meant before. Tell me about the motivation," he said. I uncovered my face and smiled a little.

"I still know your secret. And I know how much you don't want the word getting out about what that secret is. I know you'd rather die before your friends in the Organization found out," I said. Axel rolled his eyes.

"I'm not dumb, Roxas, you already told me that. How would you motivate me to tell?" Axel asked.

"Well, I have a couple of things that you need to do. If you don't do these things within the time frame I give you, I'll make you tell everyone. If you refuse to tell, then I'll tell everyone myself," I said. Axel let out a strained breath and sat on his bed.

"You're sick, Roxas," he said. I laughed heartily. What a hypocrite!

"You have got to be kidding! I'm not sick, Axel. I'm just getting back at you for how you ruined my life," I said. Axel shook his head.

"No, you're practically making me choose between cutting off my arm or my leg!" he exclaimed. I sneered at him.

"At least I'm giving you a heads up before messing up your life," I said. Axel didn't say anything for a while and just stared at me.

"What do I have to do?" he asked somewhat quietly.

"First, you have to drop out of the Organization. Second, apologize publicly for everything that you've done. Third, you have to do everything I tell you to do." I said, purposely leaving out the last thing Axel had to do. Axel looked down at the ground, seeming to think over everything. He bit his lip and took a respectable amount of time to decide.

"I guess I'll do it. I'd rather put up with your shit for the rest of the year than having everyone know that...I'm...you know," he trailed off.

"That you're gay? I don't see why it's always been a problem with you that you're gay, Axel! You've gone so far to hide it that you changed yourself into a homophobic douchebag with homophobic douchebag friends," I scolded. Axel glared at me.

"Dem made me be friends with them. It became a habit, to be so mean and horrible," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for you," I said. Axel frowned.

"That's because you don't know my side of the story," Axel said. I glared at him. Why does he think that he has the right to try to play the sympathy card?

"You don't have a side of the story. I'm done talking to you, Axel. You have two weeks to leave the Organization," I said harshly while I turned away. I tuned out Axel's whines and objections and got ready for bed.

**0o0o0o**

The next two days passed slowly. Classes were boring and barely held my interest. Axel and I argued here and there, but mostly we ignored each other. The only time I spoke to him was to see how far he had gotten with ditching his friends. So far, he had made little progress. He cut off contact with Xigbar and Luxord, but he was never friends with them anyway.

It was Saturday. Thank fucking god. I had a small bag packed for Ven's house, and I was the most excited I've been in years. The last time I had a sleepover was the night I came out to Hayner. That night was one of the worst I've ever had. I often tried to not think of that night, but to no avail.

Then there was a knock on my door. I bounded towards the door and threw it open. Sora, Riku, and Ven stood there, smiling at me. I smiled back and left my room with them.

We all laughed and joked on the way to Ven's car. Sora called shotgun and I got stuck in the back with Riku. I felt nervous. I've spoken to Riku less than my other friends. We were on friendly terms, but never really had a long conversation before. While we were driving over the bridge and into the little sea-side village Ven lived in, Sora and Ven bantered about the best way to eat paopu fruit.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and looked at Riku, who I noticed was studying my face intently. I raised my eyebrow at him and he snapped out of his trance and laughed.

"Sorry about that, I was just thinking about you and Ven," he said. I laughed.

"Is that all you think about?" I asked jokingly. He shook his head.

"No, but when I'm near you or Ven I just get really curious. About why you guys look so alike, I mean," he said. My lips formed an 'o' and nodded. I didn't reply to Riku's strange comment and decided to start a conversation about what I'm pretty sure straight guys like to talk about.

We pulled up to Ven's house soon enough. He lived in an average sized beach house. His whole house was painted a pretty blue color. I could already tell that the inside would be open and airy. I had to admit that I was jealous; I grew up in a small apartment above my dad's mechanic shop.

We walked inside and my suspicions were right. The inside of Ven's house was painted a pleasant white color, and his windows let in a lot of light. Ven's walls were sparsely decorated and the furniture was arranged in such a way that it made the rooms seem extremely spacious. Needless to say, I was absolutely in love with his house.

We removed our shoes and walked into Ven's kitchen where his mother was busy washing some dishes. She wasn't facing us, but I could see her long brown hair gathered in a loose ponytail. Her body was toned, giving the impression that she was athletic.

"Hi, Mom! Sora, Riku, and Roxas are here to spend the night," Ven said happily. Suddenly his mom's back stiffened and she turned around slowly. Her ruby eyes moved from Ven to me, her mouth a thin, straight line. She didn't say anything and I shifted from foot to foot and looked at the ground. _Does she do this to everyone?_, I thought.

Suddenly Ven's mom smiled at us.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing a double of Ven!" She looked to me. "You can call me Tifa," she said. I nodded and smiled back to her. My gut felt strange. It felt like it was twisting itself into knots and I had no idea why. I tried my best to shrug off the feeling as we all made our way to Ven's basement.

**0o0o0o**

We ended up watching a couple of movies and eating pizza that Tifa ordered. The last time I checked the clock it was 11:00 and I'm sure an hour or so has passed since then.

"Your mom has acted weird today, Ven," Riku said. Ven nodded and took a bite out of a pizza slice.

"Yeah. When she saw Roxas it was really weird. She's never done anything like that before," he said. Sora decided to join in.

"Maybe Aunt Tifa really was just surprised," he said. I never knew Ven and Sora were cousins, then again I never asked. I sat with my back against the wall of Ven's basement. Riku looked at me.

"Or...maybe she's surprised that her long-lost son is back," he said. I looked at him and laughed. Ven joined in, but Sora didn't. I stopped eventually and stared at Riku.

"You're not serious, are you? I told you, there's no way we're related!" I exclaimed. Sora raised an eyebrow at me.

"I think you could be," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys know that my dad is dead and that Roxas lives with his _dad_," Ven told the group. I nodded with him, but Riku only shook his head.

"Ven, you know that you guys are related, but you're just in denial! You've never seen a picture of your Dad, and when you asked your mom what his name was, she didn't tell you. How can you so easily believe that your mom is being honest with you now?" Riku scolded. He then turned to me. "Have you ever visited your mom? Do you know her name or what she looks like?"

I stayed quiet. True, I've never seen my mother and I don't know her name, but that's because I never really asked. After I asked my dad, Cloud, why I didn't have a Mom, he simply said 'Because things didn't work out. Don't bring this up again, Daddy doesn't want to talk about it,' and that was that.

The more I thought about it, the more conflicted I felt. I trusted my dad, that was for sure, but why was he so against telling me about my mom? Ven didn't know anything about his dad, either. Maybe Riku was right, maybe we were related. It would explain a lot of things, such as why Ven and I are so identical, and Tifa's weird reaction to seeing me in her house.

I looked at Ven, unsure of what to say or do. He looked at me too, and I could see in his eyes that he was unsure of what to think.

"I don't know," Ven said lamely.

Riku stood up and smiled mischievously. He pulled Sora up with him and walked over to Ven and I.

"Let's go find out the truth," Riku said. Ven stood up, but I stayed sitting.

"How are we going to do that?" I asked. Riku looked at Ven.

"My mom keeps a bunch of important documents in her closet," Ven answered. I nodded and looked at the ground.

Should I go? I was curious about the truth, but if Ven and I were actually brothers, what would that mean for my relationship with him? How would I tell my dad that I knew the truth? I sighed, unsure if I would even want to talk to my dad. I know I'd be furious if he kept this a secret from me, but I just didn't want to be kept in the dark any longer.

I didn't have a second to think of what I wanted to do because Sora lifted me off the ground and dragged me up to the first floor of Ven's house. The house was dark except for a small light coming from the kitchen. We could hear Tifa talking quietly to someone on the other end of a phone.

Ven turned to us and silently pressed his index finger to his lips, warning us that we had to be quiet. We nodded and started our ascension up the stairs.

With each step my heart pounded harder and faster. Even if I wanted to talk, I don't think I would have been able to. My throat felt constricted and my stomach felt like it was doing flips. I took a shaky breath to try to calm myself, but to no avail. I clenched and un-clenched my fists as we entered Tifa's room.

Ven opened his mother's closet and reached for a large metal box on the top shelf. He brought it to the floor and opened it with shaky hands.

I turned away, not watching while Ven dug through the box looking for his birth certificate. I bit my lip and tried to calm my racing mind. Though that was nearly impossible because moments later Ven took out a piece of paper and handed it to me. I took the paper and slowly brought it closer to my face.

The first thing I looked for was the name of his father.

**Cloud Strife**

I frowned and dismissed it as a coincidence. Tons of people are named Cloud Strife! Not just my dad and his dad! I looked further down the page for a place of birth.

**Twilight Town Medical Hospital**

I frowned. That's where I was born. I racked my mind for any excuses about how this could be a mistake, about how Ven and I couldn't possibly be brothers, twin brothers, even. Yet, I couldn't think of a single reason. I crumpled the paper in my hands and threw it at Ven, slamming my head into my hands.

My dad lied to me! He was dishonest. He said I didn't have a brother, but that's obviously a lie! I took deep breaths and tried my best to push the horrible feeling in my stomach away. It was like I was going to throw up my lunch all over Tifa's room. Or should I say my mom's room? I have no idea what to call her anymore! Everything is too confusing now! I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, but that was absolutely useless.

My mind was still weighed down with thoughts about my dad lying to me. He and I promised to never lie to each other. He didn't keep that promise though. I trusted my dad more than anyone, but how am I supposed to trust him now? He lied to me about something as important as having a brother! I couldn't believe it! I wish this was all a nightmare. I wish that I would wake up right now, that I'd be back at Hayner's house, and that at 10:35 pm I wouldn't look to him and tell him that I was gay.

Tears pricked my eyes and I wanted to slap myself for being so pathetic. Suddenly, a hand was on my shoulder. I looked around, and I saw Sora's hand clasped on me and Ven's. Ven was having his own crisis and was staring blankly at the ground. I can't blame him, who wouldn't be shocked into silence. Riku was at Ven's side, hugging him with one arm.

Before I was able to cover my head, I heard someone enter the room. I looked over and saw Tifa looking at us with a guilty look on her face.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before you found out," she said softly.

I couldn't find anything to say, so I looked at Ven. Ven looked at his mom and I could tell by his features that he had trouble processing everything.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ven asked her, barely able to speak loud enough to be heard.

Tifa walked over and embraced me and Ven tenderly before speaking.

"Your dad, Cloud, and I decided that it would be better if you didn't know each other and if we weren't in each other's lives," she said.

"Why?" Ven asked. Tifa looked at Sora and Riku. The two of them got her silent message and they left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Your dad and I stopped getting along as well as we used to. After I had you guys, I did something I shouldn't have. I-I started seeing an old boyfriend of mine, and I wish I didn't. Your dad found out, and we got a divorce shortly after. We figured it would be better if you didn't know," Tifa admitted.

I glared at Tifa, my teeth gritted. She admitted to cheating on my dad? I can't believe it! My dad is the best person I know, yet Tifa cheated on him.

"Why would you do that? Why would you betray him like that?" I yelled. Tifa looked taken aback. Ven looked at me, a fire in his eyes.

"Hey, that's my mom! Don't yell at-" Ven was cut off by Tifa's hand on his shoulder. Tifa shook her head at Ven, who glared at the wall instead.

"It's okay, Ven," Tifa said to him. She looked at me. "Roxas, I get why you're upset. I regret what I did, Roxas. I can understand why you'd be mad at me. It will take a while for you to forgive me, I understand that too."

I didn't answer her. I didn't want to hear anymore. My blood felt like it was boiling and my head was beginning to hurt. I stood up and walked out of Tifa's room silently.

Riku and Sora were waiting by the stairs. They didn't say anything or tried to stop me when I walked past them and down the stairs. I went to Ven's basement and sat there by myself, waiting for Sora, Riku, and Ven to come back.

Before they could come back into the basement, I fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

**Cheers, anyone? I updated faster than I thought I would :P**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There wasn't as much Axel in this chapter, but I had other things to write about hehe.**

**If you have any questions, comments, or critique, please tell me in a review or a PM.**

**Thanks for reading guys!**


	4. The Organization

**0o0o Chapter 4 0o0o**

**0o0**

**0**

I was still alone when I woke up. I sat up and looked around. Ven, Riku, and Sora all had been in the basement because their sleeping bags were all messed up. Ven's laugh carried from upstairs down into the basement through the cracked open door. I scowled remembering the events of the previous night.

I sighed and slowly made my way upstairs. I walked silently into the noisy kitchen. The room smelled like batter and flowers.

Tifa looked at me, then away, her red eyes seemed darker. I ignored her and sat next to Sora at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Sora, Ven, and Riku had been helping themselves to a large plate full of pancakes.

As soon as I sat down, they all stopped talking. Riku studied me curiously, and Sora looked at Ven and I. Ven, however, awkwardly avoided eye contact with me. I didn't say anything either. Instead, I glared at my plate and served myself pancakes, eating in a hurry.

"Roxas, how did you sleep?" Sora asked me, trying his best to make the heavy feeling in the air disappear. I looked at him and shrugged.

"It was alright. I had a lot on my mind," I said, looking at Ven.

"So did Ven," Sora said with a smile.

"I know," I replied curtly with an eye roll. _How would I not be aware of that? _I thought. Sora dropped the subject.

**0o0o0o0o**

A couple of hours later, I was back in my dorm reading a book for my psychology class. It was boring and I'd rather be doing anything else, but I might as well get it done.

I was interrupted though when the door swung open and I heard loud voices. I saw Axel and a man with long blue hair and a large scar on his face walk into the room shouting at each other.

"I'm fucking sick and tired of you always on my case, Saix!" Axel screamed. The other man, Saix, glared at Axel and seemed to snarl.

"I'm _not_ always on your case, Axel. I am now because of what you said!" Saix yelled. Axel shook his head and walked closer to Saix.

"I'm sorry for being honest, Saix! If you can't handle it then why are you even my friend?" Axel said. Saix frowned at Axel.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself," Saix spat before turning on his heel and marching out of the room.

I couldn't help but smile at the scene. Axel turned to look at me and I hid my expression with my book. Axel shook his head and walked to his bed and flopped face down on it in a huff.

"That was difficult," Axel's muffled voice said.

"Was it now?" I asked sarcastically. Axel sighed and sat up looked at me.

"Yes, it was. I don't know about you, but making yourself fight with on of your best friends is a draining experience," he said. I nodded, listening to his words for once. I knew how he felt, but I didn't feel that bad for him. I was bullied for years and my friends dumped me, I imagine that hurt more than fighting with anyone.

"Fights happen. Besides, it's all for the greater good," I replied.

"You're a hypocrite, Roxas. Why are you trying to make me be friendless and miserable like you were in high school?" he asked me. My body tensed, all feelings of sympathy went away, and I glared at him. He was the reason for my misery, why should he try and guilt me for this? I'm doing what's right!

Before I could answer, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I grabbed it and scowled when I saw **DAD** written on the screen. Feelings of disgust and anger came over me in waves. I clicked the ignore button and tossed my phone away from me, not even caring where it landed.

I slammed my back against my bed and grabbed my book and burying my face in it. I felt my cheeks flush red with anger.

I'm still not used to the truth that my dad lied to me. We promised that we would never lie to each other, but he lied to me about important aspects of my life. I never lied to him, I was honest, but he broke his promise.

"That was dramatic," Axel joked with a small laugh. I ignored him and flipped over to lay on my stomach. My phone rang again and I made no move to get it.

"Roxas, it's Dad. Why did you ignore my call? We have to talk, so call me back," my dad said to the answering machine. I sighed loudly. I didn't want to talk to him now. I was too angry and I know that I would do something that I'd regret.

"Ignoring your dad? That's weird, you were up his ass all the time back home," Axel said. I twisted my back and looked at Axel.

"It's a long story," I answered.

"Every story is a long one," Axel said. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said sourly.

"I know you do. I remember how you got when something was eating you up inside, I was friends with you, Roxas," Axel said. I felt my stomach twist from some unknown feeling. Why would Axel bring that up now of all times? Why couldn't he just drop it?

"I don't want to talk about it with _you,_" I said. Axel didn't say anything.

Suddenly,here was a hard knock on the door. I lazily glanced in the general direction.

"Roxas? Can we talk?" I heard Ven call from the hallway? Before I could get up, Axel was already at the door.

He opened the door and stepped outside. Ven walked in and closed the door behind him. Ven was wearing a blue-green shirt and tan shorts. His blond hair was more disheveled than usual. I stared at him blankly and watched him fidget.

"Roxas, we need to talk about this," Ven said. I sat up and motioned for Ven to sit next to me. He obliged. When he sat I got a whiff of his cologne.

"We do, don't we?" I asked rhetorically. Ven nodded. I sighed and continued talking, "I'm sorry for yelling at your mom yesterday. I was, well, am really upset with the whole cheating thing."

Ven smiled and said, "It's okay! I forgive you for that. I should have been more understanding of why you were upset with that. I'm upset too."

"It's hard not be upset. My dad lied about a whole part of my life, I can't believe he would do that," I said.

"My mom lied to me, too. It's a lot to take in," Ven said. I laughed dryly and nodded.

"Tell me about it. I found out I have a long lost twin brother, that my dad lied to me, and that my mother cheated on my dad all in one day. It's kind of ridiculous," I said. Ven laughed heartily.

"Yeah and now I'm just trying to get used to the fact that my dad isn't dead. I still don't know what he looks like though. Or anything about him, really," Ven admitted.

I leaned off my bed and grabbed my phone. I unlocked it and scrolled through my photos. I got to the photo one of my aunts took of my dad and I last Christmas and showed it to Ven. He studied my dad's face closely.

"The resemblance is kind of scary," he said softly. I nodded.

"He's kinda moody sometimes, a little quiet too. He's really nice though, selfless, even," I said. I remembered when I came out to him, all he did was hug me. He didn't say anything. He only hugged me. I smiled at the memory. Ven smiled too.

"I guess I can see where you get your moodiness from then," he said with a laugh. Ven continued, "My mom is a hard worker, for sure. She's probably the ideal for being motherly, too." I smiled. I can see how she and my dad could have fallen in love.

"My dad helped me a lot too back home. I had a lot of trouble there," I said, coming clean about my past. Ven frowned.

"You did?" he asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I did. I-I'm gay. When I came out, I didn't realize how close minded Twilight Town was and I lost all of my friends and I got bullied. My dad was there for me the whole time," I said. Ven's frown deepened and he gave me a hug.

"I'm really sorry, Roxas. I wish I could have been there for you, too," said Ven.

"It's okay. I had one friend, but they kind of screwed me over in the end," I said with a voice full of malice. I thought of Axel and I felt sick to my stomach. He will never be forgiven.

"Who was this friend?" Ven asked. I scowled.

"Axel," I said. Ven's eyes widened in realization.

"So that's why he...?" Ven trailed off. I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. He was talking about the whole face graffiti incident. Ven opened his mouth, to ask another question, I assumed. I shook my head though.

"I don't want to talk about it now. I have enough going on already," I said.

"Okay, I understand. Roxas, are you going to talk to your dad about it?" he asked somewhat out of the blue. I looked down. My dad already called me twice, so maybe I could call him back soon.

"I might. He already called a few times though," I said. Ven smiled.

"You should call him back now. I want to say hi to him," Ven said. I looked at Ven's face and studied it. His wide eyes and big smile portrayed the wonder he was feeling right now. I don't blame him, he could finally put a voice to the father who had not been present his whole life.

I sighed and dialed my dad's number and put him on speaker. He picked up on the first ring.

"Roxas! We have to talk about something," he said quickly. I bit the inside of my lip.

"Is it about Tifa?" I asked. Ven scooted closer to me and started intently at my phone.

"Yes, it is about Tifa. She called me this morning. I'm really sorry, Roxas. I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you, I shouldn't have lied," he said. I felt a strange tug in my heart. I believed my dad was sincere in his apology, but I don't know if he could be forgiven just yet.

"Why did you lie to me?" I asked my dad. He was quiet for a few seconds on the other end.

"Tifa and I were mad at each other for a long time. We were on such bad terms when we got divorced, that we agreed to not be in each others lives in any way. You guys were two when it we got a divorce, so it worked out," he said. I frowned. Does being mad at someone actually justify lying to your kids?

Next to me Ven stiffened, and he grabbed the phone from my hands. Before I could grab it back, Ven was already talking.

"Hi," Ven said. I rolled my eyes. Couldn't he at least come up with something better than 'hi'?

"Uh, hi, Roxas," my dad said.

"No, it's Ven," he said with a smile on his face.

"Ven? Is it really you?" my dad asked, sounding surprised. Ven nodded enthusiastically even though he was on the phone.

"Yup, it's me! I can't believe I'm talking to you, I thought you were dead for the longest time," Ven said.

"Dead? Why would I be dead?" my dad asked. Ven flushed slightly.

"Oh. I guess you don't know that my mom said that you were dead," Ven replied.

"No, I didn't know this. I'll have to talk to Tifa later," my dad said. I cringed. I knew this wouldnt go over well with my dad. Ven looked at me with a frown on his face too. I sighed. We wouldn't be able to talk Dad out of calling Tifa about it no matter how hard we tried.

"Oh, okay. Don't be mad at her, though," Ven said hopefully. I heard my dad sigh on the other end.

"I guess I could try, but it wouldn't work," my dad replied. Ven frowned and picked at his pants. My dad continued talking, "I'm sorry, I have to get back to work in the shop. I'll call you later, Roxas. Love you." Then his line went dead.

Ven gave me my phone back and looked at me.

"Was that awkward?" he asked innocently. I nodded.

"Extremely."

Ven sighed and got up.

"I have to go and study for my classes. Stop by later though. Bye, Rox," he said. Ven waved and walked out of my room.

I watched his retreating figure and then looked back down at my phone. I didn't know how I felt about my dad. Did I forgive him? Am I still mad at him? I groaned and picked my book up again, trying to finish my book before I had to go to class later.

**0o0o0o0o**

The sun was just beginning to set when I started across the campus. My class was in the farthest building so I left extra early. I zoned out and focused on the beauty of the island.

The sunset was many different colors. Reds, oranges, yellows, pinks. The colors reflected off of the sea and covered everything in sight in an array of beautiful colors. The sun barely shone above the palm trees and seemed to be playing a game of hide and seek. As usual, the air smelled like the ocean and I could feel the breeze even though I wasn't on the beach. It was mesmerizing.

I was too out of it to notice the person before I walked into them. I snapped out of it and looked up at the form in front of me. I had never seen this person before. Their hair was silver and their eyes an impossible orange color. They looked down at me and sneered. I looked around and saw other people. I recognized a few of them as Axel, Demyx, Larxene, and Saix. As soon as I saw them, everything clicked into place.

This was the Organization. The Organization hates gay people. I'm gay and I just walked into one of them. My stomach dropped to my feet and I felt my throat seize. My heart beat sped up and I back pedaled away from them.

Before I got very far at all, the person I had walked into grabbed the front of my shirt. He tugged me closer to him. I could smell his foul breath.

"You're the resident faggot, right?" he asked. I swallowed and looked anywhere but him. When I didn't say anything he spit in my face. My body tightened and I tried my hardest not to throw up my lunch.

"I know you are. I can recognize the disgusting stench of queer," he said. I didn't say anything. Larxene walked closer to us.

"What are you gonna say for walking into us?" she asked me. Her voice felt like a thousand knives piercing my ear drums. I looked into her electric blue eyes and felt a shiver down my spine.

"I'm sorry for walking into you," I said. Larxene smiled sadistically.

"Good. But, we're not going to let you off that easy, now are we?" she asked the rest of the group. They shook their heads.

My body felt frozen. Ice cold. Glacial. Larxen looked at the man then back at me.

"I know _exactly_ what to do with you," she said.

* * *

**Heheheh a little cliff hanger of sorts B)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry it's short and kinda sorta sucky. I've been feeling kind of down lately :/**

**Tell me your thoughts on this chapter! Thank you for reading c:**


	5. A Visit to the Hospital

**0o0o0 Chapter 5 0o0o0**

**0o0**

**0**

"I know_exactly _what to do with you," Larxene snarled.

I immediately found it hard to breathe, hard to even think. I couldn't even move a muscle, even when Larxene's dainty fingers laced themselves into my hair and roughly threw me to the ground. My head collided with the ground and it bounced. I couldn't help but grimace.

My body was waking up now from the shock of being thrown to the ground, and my body wanted me to fight. But my head spun and getting up seemed impossible. I somehow managed to get on my knees when Xemnas kicked me in the chest.

With an '_OOF!_ my body slammed against the ground once again. I struggled to catch my breath and stared at the group of people who were no surrounding me. I tried to tell them to stop, but my mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate.

People I didn't even know the names of started to kick my ribs. I howled and tried to cover my chest, but that only got my fingers beaten up and bruised. My throat burned and my chest ached. I rolled over and got on my hands and knees.

I looked around for an opening in the circle to escape. I saw a small space and Axel standing away from the rest of the organization. Our eyes make contact for a second before he looks away, ashamed.

Before I could stand and run away, however, a knee collided with my face. I heard a sickening crack and the lower half of my face became covered in oozing blood. It was so warm, so disgusting, so horrific.

I crumpled onto the ground in a heap and used my arms to cover my face as I curled in a ball. I wheezed and tried to breathe, but even doing that hurt. I closed my eyes and imagined that this was a dream, that such extreme cruelty didn't exist. I never had this happen back home, why did it have to happen now?

My eyes stung and tears rolled down my cheeks and mingled with my blood.

"Hey, whats going on?!" A female voice yelled. I heard someone shove through the crowd of people and shooed them away. Thankfully, I heard them disperse.

I took me head from my arms and looked at the person who saved me. The girl had blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her thin eyebrows were knit together in concern and her soft pink lips were twisted into a frown.

It was Namine.

Gingerly, she placed her hand against my cheek. A searing pain went through my body and Namine quickly retracted her hand. Namine stood up and grabbed my wrists.

Namine pulled me up with a little struggle. She threw on of my arms across her shoulders even though she was an all around petite girl. Namine looked at me and smiled lamely.

"I'm going to bring you to the nurse. The medical building isn't too far, okay?" she said to me. I nodded.

We slowly walked towards the nurse's office, not talking at all. I'm glad we didn't speak, I didn't feel in the mood and even if I was, I wasn't sure if I would be able to.

Some people were scattered around the campus, only a few of them noticed me. No one said anything, but they stared. I wondered what I looked like. Disgusting, I'm sure. They're probably wondering what could have happened, or maybe they're starting rumors about it.

In the nurses office, I didn't pay attention to anything. She had me sit in a cushy chair and hold paper towels to my nose while she called 911. Blood clots forced their way out of my nose and the bigger ones came out of my mouth. Ew.

I zoned out, there really wasn't anything else to do. I thought back to Axel, just standing there and watching me get beaten into the ground. My blood felt like it was boiling, and I clenched my fists, ignoring the pain in my fingers.

Why would he just stand there? Why couldn't he do something? He must have known that was the perfect time to stand up against the organization and ditch them, so why didn't he?

I sighed angrily and immediately regretted it due to the intense pain in my chest. I winced and dug my nails into my palm to try to distract myself.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The hospital room was an annoyingly bright white color, and the overly sterile smell gave me a small headache. I stared at the ceiling and wondered why I was even here. I don't mean in the hospital, but I mean why am I here?

I can't seem to live happily or peacefully because of who I am, so why am I here? I didn't get why I was born if my fate was simply to be tormented until I die. I was worthless scum, hated by so many people. I didn't eve have a home, no place where I feel safe and loved.

Every single place I went, I encountered hatred and cruelty. Was there even a point for me to try?

I was drawn out of my mind by a sharp knock on the door. One moment later the heavy door pushed open and a pretty woman walked in.

She smiled at me sadly and handed me a bottle full of pills.

"It's pain medication. Take one in the morning and one at night with a glass of water for the next 3 weeks. If you experience any complications please come back," she paused to point at the door. "There is a wheelchair outside for you to sit in. Wait for transportation staff to take you outside."

I frowned at the wheelchair part. I can walk perfectly fine, why should I have to be in a wheelchair? I was about to voice these thoughts when the doctor left the room. I rolled my eyes and followed her out.

I ignored the wheelchair and walked out of the hospital perfectly fine.

That's when I realized my little predicament. I had no idea where I was, and no way to get back to school. I sighed and grabbed my phone. I called the first person in my contacts, which just happened to be Sora. He picked up after a few rings.

"Roxas?" he asked.

"Uh, hi. I kinda need you to pick me up," I said, trailing off slightly at the end.

"Where are you?" he asked, confused.

I looked around and saw a large sign that had the name of the hospital on it.

"Destiny Islands General Hospital," I said.

"What?! Why are you there?" Sora asked me, alarmed.

"I'll tell you when you get her, just pick me up," I said sharply.

"Okay, I'll be there really soon," he said. I replied and clicked the phone off.

I found a bench next to the large sign. I sat down on the bench and looked at my fists.

Each knuckle was black and blue with scrapes all over them. Looking at my fingers made me relive that horrible moment over and over again in my head. I closed my eyes and tried to will away the images, but to no avail.

I stayed like that until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked up to see Sora. He was wearing a frown on his usually upbeat face.

I stood up and casually brushed his hand on my shoulder. Sora and I walked in silence to his car. It was only after we had sat down in the plush interior and had driven for 5 minutes that Sora decided to talk.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked. I glared out the window. I told the whole story to Sora and ended with when I left the hospital.

"I only have a broken nose and a couple cracked ribs, it could have been worse," I said. Sora scoffed.

"You still didn't leave without a scratch, and that isn't okay!" Sora exclaimed. I shrugged.

"There's nothing I can do about it now," I said. Sora shook his head.

"You can't settle for being shot down, Roxas. You need to do something about this; you have to report them for what they did," he said. I was about to say something smart back to him, when an idea popped into my head.

Reporting them would be a good thing, especially if _I_ wasn't the one filing the report. I smiled and looked at Sora.

"Thanks, Sora. I'll definitely do that," I said. Sora looked at me briefly and smiled.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

I was excused from classes for the rest of the day. I was pretty thankful for that, because I had a lot of time to myself.

I stood in front of the floor length mirror in my room. I took off my shirt and stared intensely at the bruising on my ribs. The colors of the bruises was a deep purple I never even thought was possible. There were scrapes all along my sides, which was covered in the hospital. My arms had spots of bruising. My face was the worst though.

My nose was incredibly swollen. I could see a very slight curve, but I tried my best to ignore that. Under my eyes were bright purple bruises that extended all the way to my nose. My lip was split and I frowned.

Is that what was planned for me for the rest of my life? Will I constantly be followed around by violence and hate crimes? Do I deserve it?

My attention snapped towards the door when it opened. Axel walked in and looked at me, and looked away. He closed the door and stood awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. I don't know why I didn't stop them," Axel said softly.

I stared at him, debating what I should say.

"Maybe you wanted me to get beat up," I said. Axel shook his head and finally made eye contact with me. His green eyes seemed sincere.

"No, I really didn't want them to. I was just so shocked about what was happening that I couldn't say anything," he said. I didn't say anything. "I don't know how to make it up to you, Roxas."

I thought back to what Sora said and smiled slightly.

"Well, I want you to report the incident. And you have to tell the rest of the Organization that you're the one who did it," I said. Axel frowned, contemplating it.

"Are you sure? I'll be thrown out of the Organization for sure," he said. I nodded.

"That's the point. And besides, you have to do everything I say, it's one of the things you agreed to, remember?" I asked. Axel reluctantly nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it now. Would you forgive me?" he asked suddenly. I shrugged.

"Maybe," I said honestly. Axel smiled slightly and walked out of the room.

I turned away and sat on my bed.

Why is Axel so concerned about forgiveness now, of all times? I dismissed those thoughts and took my phone out of my pocket.

I called my dad, figuring he deserved to know about my little hospital visit.

"Hey, Roxas" he answered.

"Hi, Dad," I said.

"Do you need something?" he asked me.

"No, but I just wanted to tell you something that happened today," I said.

"And what is this thing?" my dad asked. I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it, the pain in my chest was unbearable. I grimaced slightly, almost glad my dad couldn't see me.

"I got into a fight today."

"Did you win?"

"No. I went to the hospital," I said softly. On the other end I heard my dad sigh.

"Are you alright? Who did it?" he asked me.

"I'm fine, well fine as in I'm not in the hospital anymore. I broke my nose and cracked a couple of ribs. And it was a group of people, they aren't exactly gay friendly," I said. There was a long and tense silence that seemed to drag on forever.

"If a whole group of people targeted you, I don't know if I want you stay enrolled there," he said. My jaw dropped open and my stomach seemed to fall to my feet.

"What? Why? I'm happier here than back home, and its only a small group of people, Dad. I'm fine here," I pleaded.

"But that group of people physically hurt you, Roxas. I don't think it's safe for you to be there," he said.

"You wouldn't know, you've never even been here!" I exclaimed. My dad was being irrational, this college is where my only friends were. I wasn't about to let my dad screw that up.

"Well, I can always pay you a visit. I've always wanted to go to the beach, anyway," my dad said nonchalantly. I let out an agitated groan.

"Dad, you shouldn't come here. You have to run the business and besides, Ven and Tifa are here," I reasoned.

"I haven't seen them in a while, and I can always close the shop for a couple of days," he replied.

"Whatever, Dad. Just do whatever. Bye," I said before hanging up the phone. I growled and clenched my fists.

Having my dad here would be horrible! I knew that Tifa and Dad will end up fighting. I didn't want to have to deal with that.

I stood up and decided to tell Ven about this new development. However, as soon as I got out of the door I ran into someone.

I looked down and saw Xion standing in front of me, her face a bright pink. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you need something, Xion?" I asked. Xion smiled nervously

"Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight," she said. My heart stopped. I had been avoiding Xion recently, I didn't want to lead her on, but how could I reject her? " but after seeing you I think you should just rest," she finished.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for understanding," I said. She smiled back at me and placed her small hand on my shoulder.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Roxas. I hope they get what they deserve," she said. I felt my smile widen. Xion always was nice to me, and sure, she may have a crush on me, but I do value her friendship and I probably shouldn't ignore her as much as I do.

"Thank you. And they will definitely pay, trust me. I have to go talk to Ven about something important though, so I'll see you later," I said. Xion frowned and pointed down the hallway.

"I saw him in the student lounge with his friend Aqua. I'll text you later, okay?" she said. Before I answered Xion softly wrapped her arms around me. She was mindful to my chest injuries and made sure to place her arms around my waist.

I wasn't sure about what to do, so I ended up awkwardly patting her back. Xion pulled back, giving me a puzzled look. I took that moment to walk as fast as I could to the student lounge.

I saw Ven reclined on a couch with a very pretty blue haired girl. She looked a bit older than us. The two of them were losing it with a huge laughing fit, and I felt bad interrupting, but I had to do it.

I tapped Ven on the shoulder and he looked at me abruptly, vaguely startled.

"Oh, hey, Rox- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?" he yelled. The loud chitter-chatter of the lounge died down as everyone focused in on us, and I scowled, tightly clutched Ven's shoulder.

"It's a long story, but I have something really important I have to tell you," I said in a hushed voice. Ven's eyes widened and I could see the wonder in his deep blue irises.

"I'm sorry, Aqua, I'll be right back," he said apologetically to the girl next to him. She smiled at him.

"It's okay, take your time," she said.

Ven nodded and stood up. He followed me out of the student lounge and into the hallway. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the lounge burning holes into my back, but I ignored them.

I stopped and turned around to look at Ven. I racked my mind for a good way to tell him, but in the end I could find none.

"Well, my dad is coming to the islands," I said quickly. Ven's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Ven covered his mouth with his hand. His big blue eyes started to fill with tears and I felt awkward. I was never good at comforting people.

Before making a giant fool of myself, Ven began smiling, even with a few tears trickling down his face. I ended up being the surprised one, who knew he would take it so well?

"Really? He's coming? When? Why did he decided to come?" he asked excitedly. I took a few moments before I finally processed that Ven was _happy_ that my dad was coming.

"He's coming to make sure I'm safe here, after the hospital thing. I don't know when he is coming, he just decided today that he would come," I said.

"Do you think he'd want to see me and Mom?" he asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, he mentioned seeing you guys. I'm kinda nervous that Tifa and my dad will end up fighting, though," I said. Ven shook his head.

"Nah, don't worry about it! I think our parents have gotten over it," he assured me. I nodded reluctantly, I still didn't think they'd get along. "Now, can you please explain to me what happened to your face?" Ven asked me.

For what seemed like the thousandth time, I retold the story of my run-in with the Organization. This time I included Axel's apology.

"Now I really feel like beating up some close-minded fuckwads, to be honest. But, did Axel really apologize to you?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, and I don't think he was faking it. I was friends with him back in Twilight Town, so I know when he really means it," I said.

"Do you forgive him?" Ven asked. I laughed heartily (even though it hurt my ribs.)

"Fuck no," I said between laughs. Ven joined in with me a bit.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

As soon as I got back to my room and collapsed onto my bed, the door opened. I turned around and saw Axel walk in. His eyes looked downcast and his hair wasn't as annoyingly shiny as usual. He looked at me, but decided to just ignore me as usual.

"What's your problem?" I asked. Axel didn't say anything, and started getting into his pajamas.

I watched his skinny legs as they slipped out of his jeans, and noticed that the top of his back, up to his neck and under his hair, was an angry red.

"Why is your back and neck red?" I asked him. Axel looked at me before turning away. Slowly Axel lifted up the hair from his neck.

What I saw was probably one of the most disgusting things I've ever laid eyes on.

* * *

**Ooooh a minor cliffy. **

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**IN A**** REVIEW: tell me what you think is on Axel's neck.**

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	6. Family

** 0o0o0 Chapter 6 0o0o0**

**0o0**

**0**

On the back of Axel's neck was a horrible burn. His skin formed large blisters and the color of the surrounding area was a bright red. In the middle was a black blob on his skin, it was twisted and morphed, I had no idea what it even said originally.

I gagged and looked away.

This is probably the first time I ever felt bad for Axel. It was a horrible feeling and I never wanted to feel like this again.

I sighed, getting up and walking towards Axel. I reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked at me sullenly.

"I'll take you to the nurse," I said. Axel nodded.

"Who did this to you?" I asked while we walked down the mostly empty halls.

"The Organization did it after they found out I'm the one who filed the report against them," he said bitterly. I mentally slapped myself, I should've guess that the douche bags in the Organization did this to Axel.

"They decided to burn you for telling on them? Isn't that just a bit extreme?" I asked him. Axel shook his head.

"Not at all. You know how cruel they are. Burning off the tattoo they got when they joined is just the standard for leaving their group," he said with a dry laugh. I stared at Axel, my brows furrowed. What would make Axel want to join a group that he could never leave unless he wanted to be scarred? But, more importantly, why would Axel agree to file the report if he knew this would happen?

I didn't have the chance to say anything because Axel walked in front of me, flinging open the glass doors of the main entrance. He stalked off into the dusk and I had to jog to catch up to Axel.

"Why did you just walk off like that?" I demanded. Axel shrugged.

"You walk slower than a turtle and my neck hurts like a bitch, so I want to hurry," he said simply. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey, don't be so snappy," I said to him. Axel laughed.

"I'm not snappy, if anything you are, since you're like a moody teenage girl half the time," Axel joked. I glared at the ground and didn't reply.

We walked in silence for the rest of the way to the nurse's office. When we got there the lights were off, and the door locked. There was a small sign on the door.

**OPEN FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM**

Axel groaned, slamming his fist against the door.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me? What am I supposed to do now?" Axel shouted. I smiled mischievously.

"Axel, all the supplies are in there," I said, pointing at the nurses' office. Axel looked at me blankly for a moment, until realization dawned on his face.

"Breaking in is definitely not something I'd think you'd ever suggest," he said. I scoffed and crossed my arms.

"Did you seriously forget that I'm the person who broke into the mansion because you were too much of a sissy to do it?" I said mockingly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're _such_ a rebel, just find a way in," he said curtly. I shoved past Axel and walked around the side of the building, looking for a window.

When I came across one, I went grabbed hold of it, pulling it up. It slid up with little ease, thankfully. I stood up on my tippy toes and lifted myself into the window frame. I was laying half in and half out of the building, and god it was uncomfortable. I wiggled further inside until gravity got the best of me.

I crashed head first onto the ground in a heap. I groaned and couldn't decide whether to clutch my aching ribs or my throbbing nose. I felt blood begin to trickle down my face and I slowly stood up. I shook away the dizziness, and grabbed my nose to try to keep the blood from getting everywhere. I stumbled towards the door.

I kept a hand on the wall and flicked the lights on when I came across the switch. I walked to the door and unlocked it. Axel flung open the door and walked inside. He looked at me once and frowned.

"Why do you look so handsome all of a sudden?" he asked sarcastically. I glared at him.

"Shut up and go sit down somewhere," I hissed. Axel complied and sat in the same chair I was in earlier today.

I turned around and ignore Axel's pained moans after he accidentally slammed his neck into the wall behind the chair. I grabbed a couple of tissues from the nurse's desk and shoved them up my nostrils.

"So, Dr. Roxas, are you gonna fix me up now?" he said. I spun around to face him. As I was about to answer, I realized that I didn't even know how to treat a second degree burn. I guess Axel knew what I was thinking when he said, "Just look it up, this is starting to hurt more."

I did what he said and ended up finding a pretty easy to follow guide on what to do. Without looking away from my phone, I read the first step, "remove any jewelry or clothing that could become too tight if the wound swells."

When I looked up at Axel he had already taken off his shirt. Axel was staring at the ground in front of my feet. Axel's fists clenched and he was chewing on his lip. Axel's gaze moved to my face and he smirked.

"Don't get too turned on," he joked. My face contorted into one of disgust at the mere thought of liking Axel and enjoying the view of his bare body.

"I have standards, too, you know," I said. Axel laughed heartily.

I read more of the instructions and looked for a cup to pour cool water onto his neck. All I could find was a small dixie cup, but I filled it up anyway. I walked over to Axel and shoved his head down so I could get a better look at his neck.

Without saying anything I poured the cup onto his neck. All Axel muttered was a very pleased, "Aaah." I repeated the process until Axel said the burn didn't bother him anymore.

"Okay now I'm supposed the wash the burn or something so, just come to the sink," I said to him. Axel did as he told. He had to kneel for me to reach his neck with the soap and water though.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked suddenly. I stopped scrubbing and stared at the back of Axel's head.

"For what?" I replied. I remembered Axel asking for forgiveness earlier, but I don't know what exactly what he meant.

"For everything," he said simply. I began gently washing Axel's burn again.

"No, just because I'm being nice right now doesn't mean I forgive you," I said back. Axel nodded.

"It's just that it feels like we're back in Twilight Town now," he said.

"I guess it kinda does," I said. Axel didn't reply.

I dried his burn and applied the ointment I found. I walked away from Axel to find something to bandage his burn. While doing that, my thoughts returned to what Axel said about Twilight Town.

I hated to agree with him in saying that, but for a moment I forgot I was at the Destiny Islands. It felt like I was back in Twilight Town and getting into bad situations with Axel. It was back when we were friends and when I had nothing to be angry at him for. Well, if you count being constantly upset at him for being in love with his best friend rather than you as not being angry at him, that is.

I eventually managed to bandage his burns, and it seemed as if it would hold even if it was a really shitty job of fixing him up.

Axel and I walked back to the dorms together. The night air was cool and felt nice against my skin. The only noises were my footsteps in sync with Axel's and the crashing waves on the beach. I had to admit, it was nice.

Back in our room, Axel and I stayed pretty separate from each other. We didn't say anything from the moment we left the nurse's office to when we were both in bed and the lights were off.

"I'll give you a week until you have to start your public apology," I said randomly. I guess I was still feeling sorry for the burn or something. I don't really even know.

"Thanks," he said simply.

I closed my eyes and was just about to fall into a comfortable slumber when I was interrupted.

"Are we friends again?" Axel asked me. I scrunched my features and opened my eyes. I flopped over in my bed and stared at the ceiling. I definitely didn't forgive Axel for all that he has done, but I couldn't lie and say that I didn't enjoy talking to him today.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. Axel seemed to be content with that answer because soon I heard him snore. I tried to sleep once again, but I couldn't. All that was on my mind were questions. The most prominent of all was, 'Why does Axel care about forgiveness and being friends so much all of a sudden?'

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

_Bzzz!...Bzzz!...Bzzz!_

"Hello?" I said groggily into my cell phone.

"Hi, Roxas," the voice on the other end of the phone replied. I recognized it as my dad. I glared and the door and shifted so I was laying on my back and glaring at the ceiling.

"Dad, it's 6 AM, what do you need?" I asked him.

"It's 9 here, sorry. I forgot that the times are different," he apologized. I sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's fine, I forgive you. Now can you just tell me why you called so I can go back to sleep?" I asked, annoyed.

"I booked a flight to Destiny Islands for noon today, and we'll be landing at 5 pm. I'll be staying for a few days on an island near your campus. I just thought I'd give you a heads up," he said.

I sprang upright in bed, my eyes wide. Today?! Couldn't he at least have waited a few days to come?!

"Why are you coming so soon?" I exclaimed. I cursed myself for being so loud when I heard Axel's sheets rustle as he shifted in his sleep.

"I wanted to see how safe it was as soon as I could," he said.

"Okay, fine, Dad. I'll just talk to you get here, though. Bye, love you," I said.

"Love you, too," my Dad said before hanging up the phone.

I tossed my phone to the ground and slammed my body back against the bed. I groaned and clutched my ribs. I really have to start being more careful. I slowly stood up and went grab my pain killers. I grabbed the bottle and made my way to the bathrooms.

In my half asleep state, I walked into someone, once again sending pain through out my chest. I took a sharp intake of breath and looked up to see Ven looking at me curiously.

"Why are you awake?" Ven asked.

"I got a call from my dad and now I'm taking my painkillers. What's your excuse?" I asked.

"I camped out at the beach with Terra and Aqua last night," Ven said, the his lips curving into a smile at the thought. "Why did your dad call you?" Ven asked.

"Come with me, I'll just tell you while I take my pills because I'll die if I wait any longer," I said. Ven followed me down the halls and into the bathroom. He stayed silent while I swallowed the pills.

Soon enough, it felt as if my ribs weren't even broken. I turned around to face Ven.

"My dad booked his flight for noon. He's getting here around 5 and he said he's going to be staying for a couple of days," I said quickly. Ven's eyes widened and he practically jumped next to me and grabbed my hands.

"Really? I get to meet him today? This is amazing!" he shouted. Ven's face was one of pure joy. His smile stretched ear to ear, and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Yeah, I guess you're pretty excited," I said lamely. Ven nodded.

"I'm more than excited. I've always wondered what my dad was like, and no I actually get to meet him. I'm ecstatic!" he said in a cheery tone. Ven's happiness was infectious, and I found myself smiling with him.

"I'm sure he's excited about seeing you again," I said. Ven shook his head in disbelief.

"I can hardly believe this is happening. It all happened after you came here, too. I mean, only after you got here did I find my dad and my brother, I feel like I have an actual family now, even though our family is a lot different from the norm. Either way, I have a complete family now, and it's all thanks to you," he said. Before I could say anything, Ven wrapped me in a hug.

Ven buried his head in my shoulder and squeezed me gently. At first I was shocked and taken aback, I wasn't entirely used to getting hugged. I liked the feeling though. It made me feel loved. Just as Ven pulled away, I pulled him in and hugged him back. I felt my smile widen as I squeezed him tightly. It felt nice to hug a friend, or, well, my brother in this case, but still a friend.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

Ven insisted on meeting my dad at the airport so that's where I ended up going instead of my college algebra class. We sat in the airport bored out of our minds. It was during our 105th game of hangman that a large hand clamped down on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a man with crazy blond spikes and blue eyes the same color as mine.

Before I could even stand up and say hi, Ven was already crushing my dad in a bear hug. I laughed and hugged my dad gingerly with one arm. My dad smiled at both of us and hugged us back.

"You seem excited to see me," Cloud said to Ven. Ven nodded eagerly.

"Oh my gosh yes! I've dreamed about meeting you ever since I was little," Ven said. He looked up at my dad, looking at each one of his features. Ven's smile was larger than I've ever seen it.

My dad smiled softly at Ven. He pulled Ven closer and kissed the top of his head.

"I missed you too, kiddo," he said. I smiled at the scene and hugged my dad tighter.

I guess Ven was right about our family.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

I don't exactly know how, but we all ended up at Ven's house.

We were sitting at the kitchen island while Tifa made an impromptu fish dinner. It was an awkward silence. We all just listened to Tifa's cooking like it was the most interesting sound in the world.

A few minutes later Tifa set down a plate full of salmon. We served ourselves and ate. I had to admit, I was impressed with Tifa's cooking.

"So, Cloud," Tifa set down her fork and stared across the island to look my dad in the face. " when did you decide to come visit?" she asked. My dad stopped eating and looked up.

"I decided to come yesterday after I heard about Roxas' incident," he said, gesturing towards me. Tifa studied me, and her expression softened. She reached towards me to pat my arm lovingly.

"I never heard what happened," she said. I shifted my gaze towards Ven, then back to Tifa. I didn't want to get into the bloody details of getting beaten up while I was eating dinner.

"I'll tell you about it later, Tifa," my dad said, coming to my rescue. I smiled at him thankfully. Tifa looked back at my dad.

"Okay, I'll hold you up to that, Cloud. Where are you staying, though?" she asked.

"A hotel near the campus," my dad said. Tifa nodded.

"You can stay here, instead. You're only staying for a few days and it could give us some time to catch up," Tifa offered with a nervous smile. My dad grinned back at her.

"I think I'll do that. I'll call them later to cancel," my dad said.

I locked eyes with Ven right after this exchange. We both smiled, not even meaning to do so. I was worried that our parents would fight the whole time, but Ven had faith in the family.

I continued eating, realizing that maybe there was something to learn from Ven.

* * *

**This chapter focused on the relationships and character growth more than anything. It's a short chapter, but only because there isn't much to write.**

**I promise you that the next few chapters will be especially fabulous and entertaining!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter C:**

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**

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	7. Cute Ushers

**0o0o0 Chapter 7 0o0o0**

**0o0**

**0**

"Hey, Roxas!" an unfamiliar voice called from behind me. I perked up, turning around. I was utterly shocked when I saw it was _Demyx _who called my name. _He probably wants to yell at me_, I thought as I walked away from the approaching Demyx. Before I got far at all, however, a large hand clasped onto my elbow. I tried to tug my arm free, glaring at Demyx, but it was no use.

"Let me go!" I spat. Demyx towed me away from the large throng of people going to their classes. I groaned, I'm going to be late for class _and_ Demyx wants something (probably bad from me.

The laughter of the other students got duller and duller as Demyx pulled me closer, and eventually into, the small area full of palm trees. My heartbeat quickened and my palms were slick. Desperately, I tried to pull away from Demyx, but the older boy was twice the size of me.

Eventually, Demyx stopped walking and turned around to face me. He didn't let go of me, but he gripped both of my shoulders now.

"What is it?" I asked, malice clear in my voice. Demyx rolled his eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt you or anything, calm down," Demyx said. I scoffed, but Demyx ignored that. "I wanted to talk to you about Axel," Demyx continued. I cocked an eyebrow. _Aren't Demyx and Axel best friends? What would Demyx __learn from me?_

"Okay...?" I said.

"Well, I haven't spoken to Axel a lot this past week. Ever since we kicked him out of the organization," Demyx said. My eyebrows shot up and the only thing I could think was, _Why isn't Axel talking to his best friend?_

"That's weird. You guys are best friends, right?" I asked him. Demyx nodded.

"We are. But lately when I text him he doesn't reply all the time, and in person he seems distracted and leaves in the middle of our conversation," Demyx said with a frown. Demyx's eyes seemed downcast, and his expression read like that of a sad puppy.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, desperate to get Demyx to say what he needed and to leave me alone. Demyx looked at me with surprised, almost like he forgot himself.

"Well, I want you to ask Axel about me. I just want you to tell me how he feels still," Demyx said, pleading in his voice. I frowned at Demyx.

"Why should I do any favors for you? You've done nothing but bully me," I said with disgust. Demyx frowned.

"I know I bullied you, I'm sorry for what I did. After Larxene got everyone to beat you up, I felt bad. It wasn't right that we did that to you, and a lot of the others feel that way too. To be honest, we only did it so Larxene wouldn't hurt us later, I mean, did you see what she did to Axel? That was horrible," Demyx rambled on. _Larxene did that to Axel? Wasn't it a tradition to do that?_ I thought.

"Larxene...did it? I thought that happened to everyone," I said. Demyx gave me a horrified look.

"No! That has never happened before! Larxene just got really mad at him. Why would you think that?" Demyx asked.

"Oh, I just assumed," I lied. Demyx nodded slowly.

"Well, will you do it?" Demyx asked me, excited.

"No, I don't owe you anything," I replied. Demyx frowned and kicked at the ground.

"I understand that, it was stupid to even ask you. I just miss my best friend, you know?" Demyx said with ill masked sorrow in his voice. I felt a strange tug in my heart and an even stranger urge to help Demyx. I don't know why, Demyx was nothing but an asshole to me and he didn't deserve any of my time.

"I guess I could ask him," I said quickly. I regretted saying that as soon as the words left my mouth.

Demyx looked back at me with a big smile on his face. He hugged me tightly, yelling thank you over and over. I stayed stiff for a moment, and then pushed him from me in less than 5 seconds. I glared at Demyx with a scowl.

"Just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I like you or want to even act friendly with you. After I do this, you will never talk to me again, okay?" I said sternly. Demyx nodded.

"Thanks, man! I'm sure you can find me when you have to tell me. I'll see you later, Roxy!" Demyx waved goodbye and sauntered out of the woods. I watched his retreating figure with disgust. I can't believe that in my one moment of weakness that I agreed to help an ass like Demyx.

I walked out of the cluster of trees and check my phone.

I groaned as loudly as I possibly could when I realize that I missed class.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

I went back to my dorm room, wanting nothing but to just take a long nap alone. My plans were sadly foiled, however, when I walked in to see Axel hunched over his desk.

Axel looked back at me, his hair pulled up into a ponytail to keep it out of his face. Axel turned away and hunched over again. I walked towards Axel, but before I could read what he was writing, Axel covered it with his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey! You can't look!" Axel exclaimed. I frowned at him.

"Why not?" I asked him. Axel looked back down at the paper, then to me.

"It's personal," he said. I sighed and turned away from him.

"Okay, whatever," I said.

I flopped myself onto my bed and watched Axel write whatever the hell he was so secretive about. He was deep in thought, the intensity was evident on Axel's face. His brows scrunched and his lips subconsciously pursed, just like back in Twilight Town. Where he was best friends with Demyx. Which unfortunately reminded me of something I promised to do.

"Hey, Axel, I haven't seen Demyx in our room lately," I said, trying to be casual. Axel's green eyes flitted to me for a moment, then back to his paper. Eventually, Axel put down his pencil and looked at me.

"I'm trying to stay away from the Organization, especially Demyx," Axel said quitely, sounding somewhat sad.

"Why Demyx? You guys have been best friends since freshman year back in high school," I replied. Axel let out a long sigh and turned away, slumping in his chair.

"We are best friends. I just can't see Demyx, he'll get me to join the Organization again," Axel said.

"Don't you miss him?" I asked. Axel looked down at his desk.

"Of course I do, he's my best friend," Axel answered. I nodded, then frowned, not believing what I was about to say.

"Then you should talk to him, he probably misses you too," I said. Axel's eyes flashed me, wonder clear in them. He laughed softly.

"I didn't think you would care about what homophobes felt," Axel said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't, I just don't want you to feel miserable without Demyx." _And Demyx miserable without you,_ I mentally added. I didn't want Axel to know I spoke to Demyx about this. Axel smiled at me genuinely.

"I didn't know you cared about me at all. I think I'll go talk to Demyx right now," Axel replied. Axel stood up without another word, and left the room taking his piece of paper with him.

I turned back around on my bed and stared at the door Axel had just gone through. I didn't care about him, did I? I mean, I was worried when he got burned, that's true. But that was just because I was being a decent human being. He's still not my friend and I still don't care about him. Not at all.

I was ripped out of my thoughts by a ringing in my pocket. I dug out my cell phone and pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, hi Roxas. It's Xion," the soft voice on the other line replied. I haven't spoken to Xion in a week, what could she want so suddenly?

"Hey, Xion! Did you need something?" I asked. Xion was quiet for a moment.

"I wanted to know how your ribs and nose are feeling," she said. I smiled when I heard that she actually cared about me. I looked at the wall to the mirror hanging there. My nose was no longer swelled but now there was an obvious crooked quality to it.

"My nose doesn't hurt as much, my ribs still bother me, though. I still have a couple weeks or more until my ribs get any better," I replied.

"I'm glad to hear that! Well, I also had another question I wanted to ask you..." Xion said.

"Ask away," I said back.

Xion sighed nervously before saying, "Did you want to go see a movie tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know," I lied. I knew Xion had feelings for me, and if I went with her tonight, I knew things wouldn't end well.

"Oh, I guess I shouldn't have asked," Xion answered, sadness obvious in her voice. I sighed, the good person in me coming out.

"I want to go," I said, trying my hardest to sound sincere.

"Really?! You can meet me outside at 9, okay?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," I said before ending the call.

I groaned and tossed my phone away from me. I can't believe I agreed to go with Xion to the movies. I regretted accepting just so my friend wouldn't be upset. This day just gets worse and worse.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

The sun was beginning to set when I finally reached Xion outside. She was dressed in white short shorts and a pretty blue blouse. I could tell she put on more make up than usual and that her vanilla scent was stronger than usual. _Fuck, she was serious about this_, I thought.

Xion smiled at me softly and gave me a light hug before looking me in the eyes.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. I nodded lamely and followed her to her car. It was nothing fancy, but nicer than anything I could afford.

We got in and drove off. We were relatively silent the whole time. I imagine Xion was quiet due to first date nerves, however I wasn't talking so I could avoid the awkward situations sure to come.

As soon as we parked in front of the local movie theater and got out of the car, Xion attached herself to my arm. I stiffened, not used to being touched like this and not enjoying these touches coming from a female.

We walked in to a mostly empty movie theater. A couple of people were milling around buying snacks and what not.

Xion and I purchased our tickets and made our way to the usher. The usher was a guy around our age with shaggy brown hair and light blue eyes. He was tall and lean, and his facial structure was one that not even Axel could beat. I had to admit that he was pretty cute.

I gave him a large smile as I handed him mine and Xion's tickets.

Xion and I walked into the dark theater and found seats closer to the back of the near empty theater. Xion chose a rom-com to watch and I was dreading it. Most of the movie was spent in silence. Near the end, however, it got awkward.

I could feel Xion's heavy gaze as she stared. I ignored her as best I could. Xion scooted closer to me and reached her hand towards mine. Before I could move my hand, she had already clasped it, her fingers intertwined with mine. I sighed and tried even harder to ignore her.

Xion's thumb softly traced circles on the back of my hand. I betrayed myself and looked at her for a moment. That was a huge mistake. Xion was still looking at me, but the look she was giving me was different than any normal stare. Her eyes were heavy lidded and his lips were slightly parted. She looked like she had been waiting for this moment her whole entire life.

Slowly, she leaned into me until I could smell her minty breath. One of Xion's delicate hands lightly grazed the back of my neck as she softly pressed her lips to mine. Immediately, I stiffened at the contact.

It was so wrong. Her lips felt cold and strange against mine. Xion's hand on the back of my neck felt like pin pricks. I didn't like it at all. I roughly pushed Xion away from me. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks a deep red. Xion's pink lips pulled down in a frown.

"Was I bad?" Xion stammered with a quiver to her voice. I shook my head and looked away, no longer able to meet her gaze.

"No, it's not that. It's just, I don't feel the same way," I said softly. Xion moved away from me. I looked at her and saw that Xion was stiff, her hands clenched into fists.

"Why did you lead me on? I thought you were at least my friend!" she screamed at me. I bit the inside of my cheek, having nothing to say. Xion was right. I led her on and I hurt her. I tried not to hurt her by rejecting her, but I ended up making wounds deeper than I ever intended.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. Xion scoffed and stood up. I could see tears glistening in the corners of her eyes and threatening to spill at any moment.

"No you're not! Don't talk to me again, Roxas. I'm done with you," she exclaimed before running from the theater. I jumped up and followed her out.

"Xion, wait!" I shouted at her quickly retreating figure. Xion didn't stop until she got into her car and drove off, leaving me alone in the dark.

I cursed myself and trudged back into the movie theater. The movie Xion and I were in just ended, and the other movie-goers filing out of the theater and into the parking lot. I glared at them, jealous that they had a way to get home.

I completely messed everything up. Xion hated my guts and would probably get Kairi and Namine to hate me too. I ruined three friendships all because I was an idiot. I never seemed to stop fucking up everything. Losing friends seemed to be my specialty at this point.

I fought tears and grabbed my phone. I was about to call Ven or Sora to pick me up when I being interrupted.

"Hey, are you okay?" a deep voice asked me. I looked up to see the cute usher from before standing in front me.

I don't know exactly what triggered it, but I sobbed. I slammed my head down on the table in front of me and just sobbed. Everything had piled up on top of me and crushed me right in this moment. Everything with Axel, the Organization targeting me, ruining so many friendships and being a horrible friend to Xion. I blamed myself for so much of it, especially Xion. I screwed that up forever.

I heard the chair across from me pull out. A large hand appeared on top of my shoulder and soothingly stroked it. I looked up and saw the usher staring at me, concern clear in his eyes.

I smiled lamely and said, "I'm sorry. I'm just feeling overwhelmed."

The usher nodded understandingly. "You can talk to me about it, if you want. My shift ends in a couple of hours and it's a slow night, so I'm open to talk," he offered. I smiled wider.

"Well, a lot of it is because I really messed things up with a friend," I started. The other guy nodded. I continued on, and retold the story of Xion. How I lead her on with good intentions and totally let it get out of control. At the end of my story the usher frowned.

"I agree, you shouldn't have lead her on like that. You did mean well, but you should have told her you didn't feel the same way in the beginning," the usher said. I nodded.

"I know, but if I told her that I would have felt obligated to tell her that it was because I was gay," I replied. I looked at the usher to see his response, however his expression didn't waver at all.

"She would have understood. It's better than leading her on," he said. I nodded again. He was right.

"I need to apologize to her, " I said, pulling out my phone to call Xion. The usher placed his hand on mine. The action made my cheeks flare and my stomach felt full of butterflies. I looked up at him slowly and saw the usher shake his head.

"No, you should talk to her in person. I think she'll be happier to see your face when you apologize than to see your name, whatever it is, on caller ID," he reasoned. He had another good point.

"Yeah, I should do that. Oh, and my name is Roxas," I said. The usher smiled at me and stuck out his hand.

"And I'm James," he replied. "Now, how about I get you some ice cream to cheer you up?"**  
**

I perked up immediately. Ice cream had always been the love of my life, and sea salt was the always my first choice.

A few minutes later I was walking next to James across the parking lot to the large ice cream shop across the way. It was a bit chilly as it was inching closer to fall. I felt warm enough next to James, though.

In the shop, I scanned the choices. My mouth dropped open when I saw the last choice on the menu, _Twilight Town Sea-Salt. _I immediately ordered it while James took more time and decided on chocolate chip._  
_

James and I sat by a window and chatted over our ice cream. I learned that James graduated last year from Destiny Islands University, though he came from Radiant Gardens originally. His favorite ice cream was Death by Chocolate and he hated Sea Salt ice cream (what a weirdo.) He didn't believe in the paopu fruit, and he was openly bisexual.

Yes. This attractive male who was treating me to ice cream and just gave me his number was bisexual.

I felt happier with James, and I didn't even remember what happened with Xion. James made me forget that, and he didn't seem turned off by my ugly crooked nose either.

By the time we finished our ice cream it was 12:30 and my eyes felt too droopy for their own good. James offered to drive me back to the dorms and I gratefully accepted.

In James car, we talked about our experiences in the Destiny Islands. It turns out the James was also victim to the Organization. That made me feel connected to him, like we had a special bond. When I told James about what the Organization did to me, he touched my hand softly and told me how sorry he was. I had to hide my smile behind my hand, because honestly I was happier than I had ever been in a long time.

Eventually, we got back to the University's island. With out arrival, our laughter and playful banter ended. James pulled into the spot closest to the building. We sat in silence for a few moments, me not wanting to leave and James not wanting me to go. I slowly unbuckled and opened the door, dreading having to go back into the building. I was suddenly dreading facing Xion.

As I was about to exit his car, James grabbed onto my hand. He pulled me back in and roughly brought me to him. James pressed his lips to mine, hard yet quick. I felt my cheeks flare and I couldn't keep myself from smiling.

James drew back, a pink blush evident on his cheeks. "Sorry about that," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

I made one of my split second decisions and leaned across the divide in seat and softly kissed James on the lips. He looked at me and smiled.

I got out of his car and smiled at him. "Thank you for everything," I said. James nodded and waved, then pulled out and drove away.

As I walked back into the dorm building, I felt a strange mixture of happiness, sadness, and dread.

* * *

**I'm so sorry this took so long! I just started school and I've been doing art requests, so I was pretty busy.**

**Don't worry, I didn't forget about Threats again c:**

**IN A REVIEW: Tell me what your favorite part of this chapter was (though not much really happened, sorry), and/or your least favorite part.**

**If you have any critiques or suggestions, please tell me in a review or PM.**


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